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THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



THE GROWTH, PRESENT CONDITION 

AND RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES 

WITH A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 



BY 



HENRY GANNETT 

CHIEF GEOGRAPHER OF THE GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY AND OF 
THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENSUSES 



ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS 







NEW YORK, 

THE HENRY T. THOMAS COMPANY 

1895 

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CONTENTS 



PAGE 

AN INDUSTRIAL REPUBLIC 1 

THE NATIONAL DOMAIN 4 

Our (Joasts 5 

The Relief of the Country 5 

The Appalachian Mowntain System 6 

The Appalachian Valley. 6 

The Atlantic Plain 7 

The Missisnppi Valley 7 

The Ozarh Hills 7 

The Great Plains and the Cordilleran Plateau 8 

The (Jordilleras of North America. 8 

The Plateau Region 9 

The Great Basin 10 

Salt Lake Basin 11 

Sierra Nevada 11 

Cascade Range 11 

Temperature 1*^ 

Rainfall. 13 

Forests 15 

GOVERNMENT 16 

General Goveenmext 17 

Cabinet 18 

Senate 18 

HouKe of Representatives 18 

Judiciary 19 

Distribution of Powers 20 

Executive Divisions 20 

Departiaent of State 21 

Treasury Department 21 

War Department 22 



vi CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Department of Justice 22 

Post Office Department 22 

Navy Department 22 

Department of the Interior 23 

Department of Agriculture 23 

Other Departments and Bureaus 23 

Smithsonian Institution 24 

ORGAlsriZATION OF STATES AND TERRITORIES 24 

District of Columbia ■ , 25 

Alabama , 25 

A laska 25 

Arizona 25 

Arkansas 25 

California 26 

Colorado 26 

Connecticut 26 

Delaware 26 

Florida 26 

Georgia 26 

Idaho 26 

Illinois 26 

Indiana , 26 

Indian Territory "^^ 

loioa 26 

Kansas 27 

Kentucky 27 

Louisiana 27 

Maine 27 

Maryland 27 

Massachusetts 27 

Michigan 27 

Minnesota 27 

Mississippi 27 

Missouri 28 

Montana 28 

Nebraska 28 

Nevada 28 

New Hampshire 28 

New Jersey 28 



CONTENTS vii 



PAGE 



New Mexico 28 

Nero Yorh 28 

North Carolina 28 

North Dakota , 28 

Ohio 29 

Oklahoma 29 

Oregon ... 29 

Pennsylvania 29 

Rhode Island 29 

South Carolina , 29 

South Dakota 29 

Tennessee 29 

Texas 29 

Utah 29 

Vermont 29 

Virginia 30 

Washington 30 

West Virginia , 30 

Wisconsin 30 

Wyoming 30 

Sub-Divisions of States akd Counties 31 

Government Debts 32 

National Debt 33 

State Delts 36 

Debts of Counties and Municipalities 37 

Budget 40 

Military Forces 41 

The Regular Army 41 

Organized Militia 41 

Potential Militia 42 

The Navy 44 

Pensions 45 

Public Lands 45 

State Cessions 46 

Annexation of Territory 46 

Method of Survey 47 



viii CONTENTS 

PA6E 

Methods of Disposal 48 

Amount Alienated 49 

POPULATION 51 

Early Settlements. 51 

Increase of Population 53 

Population of States 56 

Rate of Increase of Population of States 56 

Considerations Affecting Increase 58 

Recent Changes 60 

Relative Standing of States 62 

Density of Population 62 

Extent of Settlement 63 

Settlement in 1890 65 

Tlie Settled Area 66 

Density of Population ly Groups 67 

Density of Population of States 68 

Center of Population 71 

Movements of the Center 71 

Ukban Population 74 

Distribution of the Urban Element 77 

Great Cities 80 

The Greater New York 81 

Geographic Distribution 82 

Distribution According to Temperature 82 

Distribution TJnder Rainfall Conditions . 83 

Distribution in Altitude 84 

Size of Families 86 

Sex 88 

Distribution of the Sexes in European Countries .... 88 

Distribution of the Sexes by States 89 

Races. 90 

History of the Races 91 

Relative Diminution of the Colored Element. 92 

Distribution of the Races by States 94 

The Chinese 98 



CONTENTS ix 



PAGE 



The Indians 99 

Treatment of the Indians , 100 

Nativity . , 102 

Immigration 103 

Distribution of the Foreign Born 105 

Constituents of the Foreign-born Element 108 

History of the Several Elements 109 

The Foreign Element in Cities 113 

Occupations of the Foreign Born 114 

Illiteracy of the Foreign Born , 115 

Effect of Immigration upon Natural Increase 115 

Foreign Parentage 118 

Summary 133 

Potential Votees 124 

Aliens , 126 

Illiteracy 127 

Education 130 

Public Schools 130 

Enrollment 130 

Expenditure 131 

Occupations 133 

Occupations of Immigrants. 140 

Changes in Occupations 141 

Wages 142 

Trades Unions 143 

Invention 144 

Religion 146 

Catholics 147 

Methodists 147 

Baptists 148 

Presbyterians 148 

Lutherans 1 48 

Christians , 148 

Episcopalians 149 



X CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Congregationalists 149 

Other Denominations 149 

Distribution of Communicants 149 

Mortality 151 

Census Statistics 151 

Causes of Death 153 

Mortality in Registration Cities 154 

Death Rates of Countries 155 

Oeime 156 

Pauperism 158 

Conjugal Condition 159 

Divorce 161 

AGRICULTURE 163 

Relative Importance of Agriculture 163 

General Statistics 164 

Improved Land 166 

Tobacco 166 

Wheat 167 

Corn 168 

Oats 169 

Cotton 169 

Hay 171 

Potatoes 171 

Live Stoch 07i Farms and Ranches 171 

Distribution of Live Stoch 172 

Irrigation 173 

MANUFACTURES 176 

General Statistics 176 

Iron and Steel Manufactures 180 

Cotton Industry 182 

Wool Industry 182 

Silh Industry 1 83 

BooTcs, Periodicals and Newspapers , . . . 1 83 

Spirits, Wines, and Malt Liquors 184 



CONTENTS xi 



PAGE 



MINEEAL EESOUECES 186 

Coal 187 

Iron 189 

• Steel 190 

Gold 190 

Silver 191 

Copper 191 

Lead 192 

Zinc 193 

Quichsilvcr 193 

Petroleum 193 

Natural Gas ig-l 

Salt 194 

TEANSPOETATION 195 

Wagon Roads 195 

Eailwats 196 

Extent 196 

Geneeal Statistics 200 

Traffic Statistics , 200 

Organization 201 

Consolidation 201 

Cost of Transportation 202 

Boiling Stoch 203 

Accidents 203 

Objects of Construction 203 

Engikeeking Wokk 204 

Water Transportation 206 

Vessels Engaged in Foreign Trade 207 

Coast and Internal Traffic 208 

Commerce 209 

Foreign Commerce 210 

Shiphuilding 214 

Telegraph Lines 215 

Telephones 215 

Street Eailwats. 216 

Mail Service 217 



xii CONTENTS 



PAGE 



FINANCE AND WEALTH 219 

National Banks 230 

Savings Banks 221 

Wealth 221 

Methods of Estimating 221 

Wealth in 1890 223 

Historical Resume 224 

Assessed Valuation in 1890 227 

Sources of Wealth 227 

DiSTRIBUTIOK OF WEALTH 228 

A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 231 

The Government 23 L 

The People 233 

Woman 235 

Language 235 

Cities 236 

Corporations 236 

Agriculture 236 

Manufactures 238 

Coal 238 

Electricity 239 

FINIS 240 

INDEX 241 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

COLOEITYPE 
The Capitol at Washington ... Frontispiece 

(From a Sketch by F. Hopkinson Smith.) 

COLORED PLATES. 

FACING 
PLATE PAGE 

1. Net Public Debt, by Classes of Organizations in 1890 ... 33 

Net National Debt, by Rates of Interest in 1890 33 

3. State Debt per Capita, in Dollars, 1890 36 

3. Accessions of Territory (except Alaska) 46 

4. The Settled Area in 1790 64 

The Settled Area in 1890 64 

5. Number of Inhabitants to a Square Mile in 1890 70 

6. Proportion of Urban to Total Population in 1890 78 

7. Proportion of Sex to Total Population in 1890 88 

8. Number of Colored Persons to a Square Mile in 1890 .... 96 
Proportion of Colored to Total Population in 1890 96 

9. Number of Foreign Born to a Square Mile in 1890 106 

Proportion of Foreign Born to Total Population in 1890. 106 

10. Elements of the Population at Each Census 110 

Nationalities of the Foreign Born, 1850 to 1890 110 

11. Proportion of British to Total Population in 1890 112 

Proportion of Germans and Austrians to Total Population 

in 1890 113 

12. Proportion of Canadians to Total Population in 1890. . . . 113 
Proportion of Irish to Total Population in 1890 «... 113 

13. Proportion of Scandinavians to Total Population in 1890 113 
Proportion of Native Whites of Native Parentage to All 

Whites in 1890 113 

14. Constituents of the Population of the States in 1890. . . . 120 

15. Constituents of the Population of the Great Cities in 1890 132 

16. Population at Each Census Classified by Race and Nativity 124 

17. Proportion of Persons who Cannot Write, to Population, 

Ten Years of Age or Over, in 1880 128 

Proportion of Native Whites who Cannot Write, to All 
Native Whites of Ten Years of Age or Over, in 1880. 128 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PLATE , rv TTT • ^^'^^ 

18. Proportion of Colored Persons who Cannot Write, to All 

Colored Ten Years of Age or Over, in 1880 128 

Proportion of Foreign Born who Cannot Write, to All 

Foreign Born Ten Years of Age or Over, in 1880 128 

19. Proportion of Enrollment in All Schools, to Children of 

School Age in 1890 132 

Expenditnre in Dollars, per Capita, of Children Enrolled 

in Public Schools in 1890 , 132 

20. Proportion of Persons Engaged in Agriculture to All 

Wage-Earners in 1880 134 

Proportion of Persons Engaged in Manufacturing and 

Mining to All Wage-Earners in 1880 134 

21. Proportion of Catholics to Total Population in 1890 148 

Proportion of Methodists to Total Population in 1890 ... 148 

22. Proportion of Baptists to Total Population in 1890 148 

Proportion of Presbyterians to Total Population in 1890.. 148 

23. Proportion of Lutherans to Total Population in 1890 ... 148 
Proportion of Christians to Total Population in 1890 148 

24. Proportion of Episcopalians to Total Po])ulation in 1890. . 148 
Proportion of Congregationalists to Total Population in 

1890 148 

25. Proportion of Church Members to Total Population in 

1890 150 

26. Proportion which the Number of Deaths from Certain 

Diseases Bore to All Deaths in the United States in 
1890 152 

27. The Prisoners of the United States in 1890 156 

28. Relative Value of the Industries of the United States in 

1890 164 

29. Proportion of Cultivated Land to Total Area of the 

Country 164 

30. Proportion of Cultivated Land to Total Area in 1890 166 

31. Production of Wheat, in Bushels, per Square Mile of Total 

Area in 1889 = . . = 168 

Yield of Wheat per Acre, in Bushels, in 1889 168 

32. Production, in Bushels, of Indian Corn per Square Mile 

of Total Area in 1889 168 

Yield, in Bushels, of Corn per Acre in 1880 168 

33. Production, in Bushels, of Oats per Square Mile of Total 

Area in 1889 1G8 

Yield, in Bushels, of Oats per Acre in 1889 c . . 1 68 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv 



PLATE 



FACING 
PAGE 



34. Yield of Cotton, in Bales, per Square Mile of Total Area 

in 1889 168 

Yield of Cotton per Acre, in Tenths of Bales, in 1889 .... 168 

35. Number of Tons of Hay Raised per Square Mile of Total 

Area in 1888 168 

Number of Bushels of Potatoes Raised per Square Mile of 

Total Area in 1888 168 

36. Proportional Value of the Principal Products of Agri- 

culture in 1889 1 W 

37. Number of Horses and Mules per Square Mile in 1892.. . . 172 
Number of Cattle per Square Mile in 1892 172 

38. Number of Sheep per Square Mile in 1892 172 

Number of Hogs per Square Mile in 1892 172 

39. The Circulating Media in 1893 220 

40. Assessed Valuation per Capita, in Hundreds of Dollars, 

1890 228 



TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Maps akd Diagrams. 

PAGE 

National Debt of the World, 1848 to 1890 32 

The National Debt, 1856 to 1891 34 

The National Debt Less Cash in the Treasury. 

The National Debt per Capita, Less Cash in the Treasury. 

The National Debt, 1856 to 1891 35 

Annual Interest Charge. 

Annual Interest Charge per Capita. 

Indebtedness of States in 1890 38 

State Debt per Capita in 1890. 39 

Population of Countries of the Globe in 1890 54 

Population of Each State and Territory in 1890 56 

Density of Total Population at each Census 63 

Number of Inhabitants per Square Mile in Various Countries 

in 1890 64 

Number of Inhabitants per Square Mile in 1890 70 

Position of the Center of Population at the Close of Each 

Decade from 1790 to 1890 73 

The Total Urban and Rural Population at Each Census 76 



xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



Aggregate Population and Urban Element in Cities of 8,000 

or More Inhabitants, by States, in 1890 79 

Average Number of Persons to a Family in 1890 87 

Rate of Increase — Wliite and Colored 93 

Constituents of the Total Immigration and of the Immigration 

Between 1880 and 1890. 106 

Principal Constituents of the Foreign Born in 1890 109 

Rates of Increase of All Whites and of the Native Element of 

the North and of All Whites of the South 116 

Proportion of Aliens to Total Population in 1890 126 

Proportion of Church Members to Aggregate Population in 1890 150 

Death Rate of the Great Cities in 1890 '. . . 155 

Death Rates of Various Countries in 1890 156 

Value of Farms, Implements and Machinery 165 

Number of Farms 165 

Average Size of Farms, 1850 to 1890 165 

Yield of Tobacco, in Pounds, per Square Mile of Total Area 

in 1889 167 

Products of Manufactures in Leading Cities in 1890 180 

Annual Production of Iron and Steel ,. 181 

Value of Principal Mineral Products in 1889 187 

Railway Mileage of the United States, 1830 to 1890 197 

Railway Mileage of the World for 1890, by Countries 198 

Miles of Railway per 10,000 Inhabitants, by Countries, in 1890 199 

Principal Articles of Foreign Commerce 212 

Imports and Exports, 1843 to 1892 213 

Total Wealth of the United States 235 

Wealth per Capita 225 



LIST OF TABLES 

GOVERNMENT. 

PAGE 

Aretis of the States unci Territories in Squiire Miles 30 

Civil Divisions of the United States in 1800 32 

rjovernment Debts in 1880 and 1890 33 

Princii)al Items of Expenditure 40 

Receipts and Ex])enditures per Capita, 1872 to 1891 40 

Classification of tlie Regular Army 41 

Distribution of Organized State Militia 42 

Classification of the Militia 42 

Proportions of Potential Militia and Population 43 

Cost and Area of Acquired Territory 40 

Disposition Made of Public Lands 49 



POPULATION. 

Estimated Population prior to 1790 52 

Po]iulation and Rate of Increase by Decades 53 

Total Population by States in 1 890 55 

Percentage of Increase of Po})ulation by Decades 57 

Area and Density of Population at Each Census. 62 

Settled and Unsettled Area at Each Census 66 

Rates of Increase of Settled Area and of Population 67 

Classification of Settled Area 67 

Area in Square Miles of the Different Classes of Settlement. . . 68 

Population per Square Mile, by States, in 1890 09 

Position of the Center of Population 71 

Urban and Rural Elements of Population. ... 75 

Urban and Rural Increase by Decades , 77 

Urban Population by Geographic Divisions 78 

Cities of Over 100,000 Population in 1890 80 

Number of Cities, Classified According to Population 81 

Distribtition of Popuhition as to Mean Annual Temperature. . 82 

Distribution of Population as to Mean Annual Rainfall 84 



xviii LIST OF TABLES 

PAGE 

Distribution of Population as to Altitude 85 

Size of Families at Each Census 86 

Proportion of the Sexes, 1850 to 1890 88 

Proportio7is of the Sexes in Foreign Countries 88 

Percentage of the Sexes to Total Population in 1890 89 

White and Colored Population at Each Census ... 91 

Proportion of White and Colored by Decades 91 

Increase of White and Colored by Decades 92 

White and Colored Population in 1890 95 

Percentage of Colored to Total Population, . . 9G 

Proportion of the Colored Element at Each Census 98 

The Chinese Population by Decades 98 

Nativity of the Population, 1850 to 1890 102 

Ratio of Native and Foreign Population, 1850 to 1890 102 

Immigration, 1821 to 1890, by Decades 103 

Principal Constituents of the Immigration 104 

Native and Foreign Born Population in 1890 105 

Percentage of Native and Foreign Born to Total Population, 

1890 106 

Percentage of the Foreign Element, 1850 to 1890 107 

Foreign Born by Principal Nationalities, 1890 108 

Percentages of Total Population 110 

Proportion of Different Nationalities to the Total Foreign 

Population in 1890 , 112 

Proportion of White Pojiulation of Native and Foreign Parent- 
age 120 

Constituents of the Population of the Great Cities 121 

Proportion of the Principal Elements of Foreign Birth to the 

Total Foreign Born, in Cities 122 

Composition of the Population, 1890 124 

Proportion of Potential Voters and of Total Population ...... 125 

Colleges and Professional Schools, and Attendance 132 

Distribution of Breadwinners by Classes 134 

Proportion of the Number of Persons in the United States 

Engaged in Each Class of Occupations 134, 135 

Proportion of Breadwinners of Each Nationality 138 

Distribution of Breadwinnei's by Occupations 138 

Ratio of Native and Foreign Born Wage Earners to Total 

Population, by Classes 139 

Occupations of Immigrants. Classified 140 



LIST OF TABLES xix 



PAGE 



Ratio of Immigrants Engaged in Certain Classes of Labor to 

Total Immigrants 141 

Elements of the American Federation of Labor 143 

]\Iembership of Principal Religious Denominations 146 

Ratio of Deaths from Certain Diseases to Total Mortality. ... 153 

Mortality in Registration Cities 154 

Death Rates per Thousand in Various Countries 155 

Race and Nativity of Prisoners and of Population 157 

Number of Prisoners of Each Class in 10,000 Inhabitants .... 157 

Distribution of Paupers by Race and Nativity 159 



AGRICULTURE. 

Value, Number, and Size of Farms, and Value of Products 

by Decades 165 

Yiekrof Cotton in 1889, by States 170 

Number and Value of Farm Animals in 1892 173 

Irrigated Area and Total Area Compared 174 



MANUFACTURES. 

Statistics of Manufactures from 1850 to 1890 by Decades 177 

Average Capital Invested in Each Establishment . . 178 

Average Wages per Hand Employed 178 

Proportions of Net Product Shared by Emjiloyes and by 

Capital 179 

Ratio of Net Product to Capital 179 

Number and Circulation of Periodicals by Classes 184 

Spirituous and Malt Liquors Produced in 1891 184 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Quantity and Value of Non-Metallic Products in 1891 ... 186 

Quantity and Value of Metallic Products in 1891 187 

Coal Product of the Several States in 1891 188 

Production of Pig Iron in the United States and Great Britain 

by Decades 190 

Sources of the Production of Zinc in 1890 193 



XX LIST OF TABLES 

TRANSPORTATION. 

PAGE 

Railway Capital, Operating Expenses, Earnings, etc 200 

Railway Traffic for the Year Ending June 30, 1890 201 

Classification of the American Fleet 207 

Freight Moved by Water in 1890 209 

Value of Principal Imports in 1891, Classified 211 

Value of Principal Exports in 1891, Classified. 211 

Number and Tonnage of Vessels Built in 1892 214 

FINANCE AND WEALTH. 

Money in Circulation in 1891 219 

Coinage in 1890, Classified 220 

Total and Per Capita Wealth by Decades 224 

Rate of Increase of Wealth by Decades , 225 

Holdings of the Different Classes of Wage Earners 229 

Holdings of All Wage Earners 229 

Distribution of Wealth in Percentages of the Total 230 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



AN INDUSTRIAL REPUBLIC 



Little more than a century ago, a new nation came into 
being on the western shores of the Atlantic. When the contest 
with the mother country was at last ended, the rising smoke of 
battle disclosed a group of feeble colonies, held together only by 
the necessity for defense against a common enemy, and drawn 
asunder by difference of interests, difference of origin, class 
distinctions, and mutual jealousies. They were poor before the 
burden of war was laid upon them ; they were bankrupt when 
the struggle closed. Their commerce, their petty manufactures, 
had been destroyed ; their fields had been laid waste. 

To unite and harmonize these colonies was the first step toward 
the building of the nation. 

With vast labor and great wisdom, the fathers of the Repub- 
lic devised a plan of confederation which on the one hand 
would weld the colonies into a stable nation, and on the other 
would antagonize as little as possible their varying interests and 
prejudices. This plan was embodied in the Constitution of the 
United States, a masterpiece of human creation. Prepared to 
serve the needs of thirteen small states, numbering only three 
millions of people, it now governs equally well sixty-five mil- 
lions, distributed over fifty states and territories — a people more 
numerous and diverse, and having vastly more diverse interests, 
than the framers of that great work could have imagined. 



2 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

They biiilded better than tliev knew. The freedom guaran- 
teed by that great state paper to individuals, to communities, and 
to states, has contributed, more than any other single agency, 
to the career of magnificent prosperity which this country has 
pursued, almost without interruption. 

As soon as the young nation had shaken off its load of debt, 
it gathered itself together and commenced the work of develop- 
ment — a work which, with trifling interruptions, it has continued 
at a constantly accelerating pace. Nation after nation has been 
overtaken in the industrial race. Nation after nation has strug- 
gled to maintain its lead ; but the young giant of the "West hq^ set 
them too hot a pace, and, one after another, all have fallen behind. 
The last competitor was the mother country, and long and hard 
was the struggle she made against her offspring; but at last, in 
industry as in war, she has been forced to give way, and see her 
child not only pass, but distance her in the race. 

As in the regatta for the Queen's cup at which an American 
yacht first entered, America is in the lead, and "there is no 
second." 

In numbers, wealth, industry, enterprise, ease, and dignity of 
living — in short, in all that goes to make civilization, the Ameri- 
can Republic, at the end of its first century, stands the acknowl- 
edged leader of the nations of the earth. 

What has conspired to induce this remarkable career of 
prosperit}'? It is not due to any single cause, as may be 
easily shown b}' comparison with countries in which the same 
conditions operate, but to a combination of causes. First 
among these are the freedom and liberality of its institutions, 
which, by favoring none and giving an equal chance to all, 
have stimulated ambition and enabled everv man to make the 
most of his career. That this has had a tremendous effect upon 
the people of the country, may be seen by comparing its history 
with that of other countries under much the same physical 
conditions, but under very different institutions. Compare, for 
instance, the history of the United States with that of Canada, 
with the Australian colonies, witb Russia; or, to bring the com- 
parison nearer home, compare the United States of the past 
century with the colonies during the century preceding. Al- 



AN INDUSTRIAL REPUBLIC 3 

though occupying the same territory, although substantially the 
same people, they made comparatively little progress either 
materially or socially while under the dominion of a monarchj^ 

Secondly, its domain of three and a half millions of square 
miles afforded ample room for expansion, with every variety of 
climate, and with surpassing resources of soil and mineral 
deposits. Its climate and soil are so varied as to make it 
agriculturally almost independent of the rest of the world. Its 
mineral resources are so vast and so varied that there is scarcely 
a metal or a mineral that need be purchased abroad. 

The United States is an industrial nation. Its young men, 
instead of being trained to the profession of arms, are devoted to 
the arts and industries. Instead of maintaining great standing 
armies into which are drafted the strength of the nation, for the 
purpose of threatening the peace of the world, it has a vast 
industrial army, which is occupied in producing instead of de- 
stroying. 

While enumerating the reasons for its prosperity, the character 
of the stock with which the country was peopled must not be 
forgotten. Energy and enterprise are qualities that specially 
distinguish the Anglo-Saxon. His power of adaptation to new 
conditions, and liis inventive genius, render him preeminently a 
colonizer, and in this broad and virgin field he has displayed these 
qualities as they have been shown nowhere else in the world. 

Add to all this, wise and liberal legislation, not forgetting the 
provision for free education, and the summary of the leading rea- 
sons for America's marvelous development is complete. 

It is now in order to examine the present status of our popu- 
lation, our social life, and our industries, and to follow the course 
of their growth throughout the century. 



THE NATIONAL DOMAIN 



At certain intervals the prudent merchant balances his books, 
goes over his stock in trade, estimates its value, and strikes a 
balance with tlie world, to find out whether daring the interval 
he has made or lost money, and how much. Most civilized 
nations do a similar thing, some more, some less thoroughly, 
the United States the most thoroughly of all, for its decennial 
census is a taking account of stock. Although the census does 
not deal with all the items of national progress, those which it 
omits are omitted because they are the subject of special exami- 
nation by other parts of the governmental organization. This 
volume undertakes to bring together all the physical and material 
items concerned in the nation's progress. 

First of all to be described in such a schedule of assets, is 
the home of the American people, the country in which we were 
so fortunate as to have been planted, and in which we have 
so wondrously developed. This involves a description of the 
country with its variations of surface, of its streams with their 
ada}>tability to navigation and to irrigation, of its coast line as 
it lends itself to the promotion of commerce, of its climate as it 
affects the distribution of the ]ieople, of its influence upon health, 
and of its latent resources hidden in the soil and rocks. All 
these collectively have had a tremendous influence upon the 
development of the American people. 

Our territory consists of two distinct parts, the smaller of 
which, the territory of Alaska, comprising five hundred and 
seventy thousand square miles, occupies the extreme northwest- 
ern portion of the continent. The great body of the country, 
including five-sixths of its area, and contaiiiing nine hundred 
and ninety-nine out of every thousand of its inhabitants, occu- 
pies the middle portion of the continent, stretching from latitude 



THl^: NATIONAL n03IAIN 5 

twenty-five to forty-nine, and from the Atlantic ocean to the 
Pacific. Its area is 3,025,600 square miles, not greatly different 
from that of Canada or Australia, and not much less than that 
of all Europe. 

Our Coasts. — The eastern or Atlantic coast is a very 
broken one, abounding in harbors, several of them deep and 
large enough to float the navies of the world. The coast of 
Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts is, for the most part, 
an intricate one, with many long, narrow, rugged points shelter- 
ing deep, fiord-like bays, and studded with thousands of rugged 
islands. In southern New England the character of the coast is 
very different, being low and sandy, with lines of reefs against 
which the waves of the Atlantic beat, enclosing on the shoreward 
side bays, lagoons, and swamps, out of which gently rises the 
mainland. This character of coast extends southward to Florida 
and around the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Pacific coast is of still another type. From Lower 
California noi'thward to Puget sound it is simple, containing 
only two or three indentations which can be called harbors. 
From the coast the land rises steeply into mountains and de- 
scends abruptly to great depths. The Strait of Fuca, on the 
northern extremity of our western coast, is a gap in the moun- 
tains which lets the water of the sea into a depression in the 
great valley between the Coast and Cascade ranges, forming an 
immense harbor, Puget sound, in which the merchant marine of 
all nations could be easily anchored. 

The Relief of the Country. — A correct idea of the relief 
of the country can be best obtained by considering first its 
broader outlines. It has two systems of uplift. The east- 
ernmost and smallest, known as the Appalachian system, runs 
from the northeast toward the southwest at a little distance 
back from the Atlantic coast, extending from Canada down into 
Alabama. The second and vastly greater system occupies most 
of the western half of the continent, extending from Colorado, 
New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana, westward to the Pacific 
coast. Between the two mountain systems is a great valley, or 
depression, the southern and larger part of which is occuj^ied 
by the Mississippi river and its tributaries, while the northern 



6 TRE BUILDING OF A NATION 

portion is drained by the system of the Great Lakes and the St. 
Lawrence. These are the broader features of the country. Let 
us now consider them somewliat more in detail. 

The Appalachian Mountain System. — In the north- 
eastern States tlie Appalachian mountain system is very irregu- 
lar, consisting of detached groups and short ridges. Among 
these are tbe broken hills of northwestern Maine, and the White 
mountains of New Hampshire, which, with the exception of a 
few summits in North Carolina, are the highest of the whole 
system. Among them is Mount Washington, which reaches an 
elevation of 6,291 feet. The Green mountains of Vermont, and 
the Adirondacks of northern New York, form part of this 
system. 

Passing into Pennsylvania, the system acquires a regularity 
which is unknown to the northward. It consists of two distinct 
parts, or members, the westernmost of whicli, known in this state 
as the Alleghany plateau, is a deeply eroded plateau with a well- 
defined escarpment, or cliff, on the southeast, and a gentle slope 
to the northwest. This plateau extends southwestward to Ala- 
bama, being known through the Virginias, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
and Alabama, as the Cumberland plateau. It presents everj^- 
where the same uniform front to the southeast, consisting of a 
cliff from one to two thousand feet in height, and a similarly 
uniform slope to the v/est and north. 

The Appalachian Valley. — The other member of this 
system lies southeast of the Cumberland plateau, and is known 
as the Appalachian valley. It is, in fact, a continuous valley, 
stretching from the Hudson river far into Alabama, with the 
general southwesterly trend of the mountain system. It is a 
region of extensive and complicated folding of strata, this fold- 
ing being coupled with enormous erosion, which has produced 
a succession of mountain ranges and ridges, long, narrow, and 
sinuous, trending parallel to the direction of the valley. 

Some of these ranges are of vast extent, stretching for hun- 
dreds of miles with scarcely a break; others form complicated 
loops, twists, and turns. The valley is terminated on the south- 
east by one of these ridges, known in Pennsylvania as South 
Mountain, and farther south as the Blue Ridge. It reaches an 



THE NATIONAL D03IAIN 7 

elevation of twelve hundred feet at Harper's Ferry, and four 
thousand feet at the peaks of Otter in Virginia; while in North 
Carolina it widens out, and, in place of a single ridge, develops 
into a maze of high ranges, trending in various directions, and 
standing upon a base a thousand feet or more above sea level. 

In this region are the Black mountains, the highest peak of 
which. Mount Mitchell, has an altitude of six thousand seven 
hundred feet above the sea; also tlie Big Smoky mountains on 
the boundary line between Tennessee and North Carolina, many- 
peaks of which range between five and six thousand feet. 

The Alleghany-Cumberland plateau forms an important water 
divide. Through most of its course its escarpment separates 
streams flowing directly to the Atlantic, from those flowing 
westward into the Mississippi. Certain streams, however, and 
those the most powerful ones, have broken through this escarp- 
ment, some in one direction, some in another. For instance, the 
Susquehanna, of Pennsylvania, heads far back in the plateau and 
cuts through this escarpment in its course to the Atlantic. The 
Potomac likewise heads back in the highest part of the plateau. 
On the other hand, the Kanawha river, with its main branch. 
New river, heads in the Blue Ridge, and flowing westward cuts 
through the plateau, making a gorge from its summit nearly to 
sea level. The Tennessee drains the southern part of the great 
Appalachian vallev, and, collecting its waters, flows across the 
southern end of the plateau into the Ohio. 

The Atlantic Plain. — East of the Appalachian system, 
the country slopes directly to the low ground bordering the 
Atlantic. From New Jersey southward, this Atlantic plain is 
comparatively level and unbroken, excepting for the beds of the 
streams. In New England, however, the country is much more 
broken, deeply scored by streams, and built up by glacial 
deposits. 

The Mississippi Valley.— The great valley of the United 
States, speaking broadly, is a level expanse. In southern Ohio, 
however, the streams flowing into the Ohio river have eroded 
deep valleys. 

The Ozark Hills. — The northwestern part of Arkansas 
and southern Missouri are occupied by what are known collect- 



8 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

ively as the Ozark hills, a region which until recent years was 
almost a terra incognita. This region presents many points of 
similarity to the Appalachian. South of the Arkansas river in 
Arkansas, the Ozark hills consist of east and west ridges rudely 
parallel to one another, but crooked and winding in detail, with 
many spurs and offshoots. That part of the hills north of the 
Arkansas river in Arkansas and Missouri is, on the other hand, 
an eroded plateau, where the streams occupy deep gorges which 
they have excavated in its originally level surface. 

The Great Plains and the Cordilleran Plateau. — 
West of the Mississippi river the country gradually rises more 
and more rapidly, forming the eastward slope of a great elevated 
plateau, crowned by an interminable succession of mountain 
ranges extending from the middle of Colorado, New Mexico, and 
Wyoming, westward to the Pacific coast. This long slope of 
the plains, stretching for a thousand miles westward, and from 
the Rio Grande to the northern boundary of the country, with 
scarcely a break in its rolling expanse, is one of the grandest 
features of the continent. 

The mountain system, also, is on a commensurate scale, ex- 
tending from longitude one hundred and five degrees to the 
Pacific ocean, and from the Mexican boundary to that of Canada. 
Tt has a length from north to south of twelve hundred miles, 
and a breadth of a thousand miles. With its mountains, valleys, 
deserts, and plains, it comprises fully one-third of the area of 
the United States. This plateau reaches the greatest elevation 
near its eastern border in Colorado, where it is not far from ten 
thousand feet above sea level. From this summit it descends in 
all directions, to about four thousand feet in southern New 
Mexico and the same elevation in Montana on the British 
boundary. Descending toward the west, the plateau is four 
thousand feet in the valley of Great Salt lake, from whence 
it rises again to six thousand feet in central Nevada, and then 
sinks to the level of the Pacific. 

The Cordilleras of North America. — This plateau is 
crowned by a vast number of mountain ranges of various eleva- 
tions, the highest of them reaching nearly fifteen thousand feet. 
The system on our northern boundary is comparatively narrow, 



THE NATIONAL DOMAIN 9 

extending from longitude one hundred and twelve to one hun- 
dred and twenty-four, thus having a breadth of only about five 
hundred miles. Southward, its eastern boundary extends rapidly 
to the eastward, giving the system its maximum breadth in 
Colorado. 

The easternmost ranges of this-system are commonly classified 
as the Rocky mountains, and these again may be further sub- 
divided into two parts, the northern and southern, which are 
separated from one another by a broad stretch of plateau. The 
southern Rocky mountain region comprises the ranges in south- 
ern Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and includes a series 
of ranges trending nearly north and south, and enclosing high 
mountain valleys which are called parks, the best known among 
them being the North, South, Middle, and San Luis parks, of 
Colorado. 

With the exception of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains in 
Colorado are the highest in the country, exclusive of Alaska. 
These ranges contain scores of peaks whose altitude exceeds 
fourteen thousand feet, with great areas of country lying above 
the limit of timber, v^hich in this state has the extreme altitude 
of eleven to twelve thousand feet. The easternmost of these 
ranges, the Front, Park, Sawatch, and Sangre de Cristo ranges, 
are broad and massive, while the Elk and San Juan mountains 
in the western portion of the group, are extremely rugged. 

The northern group of the Rocky mountains extends from the 
Wind River and Bighorn ranges in northern Wyoming, across 
western Montana and Idaho. They are by no means as high as 
those of the southern group, varying from thirteen thousand 
seven or eight hundred feet in the Wind River range, down to 
nine or ten thousand feet in the more northerly ranges. 

The Plateau Region. — The heart of this mountain region 
is drained by the Colorado river and its tributaries. Its drainage 
area is very pecidiar. Around its borders are high mountains, 
the Rocky mountains on the east, the Wind River range on the 
north, and the Wasatch on the west. From these ranges flow 
the little streams which make up the Colorado. Leaving the 
mountains, these streams enter a region of plateaus, great level 
expanses stretching farther than the eye can reach, without hill 



10 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

or valley, and with scarcely an undulation in tlie level surface. 
Where a plateau ends there is a line of abrupt cliffs descending 
hundreds or even thousands of feet, to the level of another and 
lower plateau. And so, passing awa}- from the mountains, one 
descends by a series of gigantic steps, a veritable giant's stair- 
case, from an elevation of twelve thousand feet to the sea level. 

These plateaus contciin no valleys. Instead of valleys there 
are canyons and gorges, with rocky, precipitous sides and narrow 
beds. In many places these canyons are so numerous as to reduce 
the plateau to a mere skeleton of narrow, winding, flat-topped 
ridges. Most of the canyons are dry nearly all the year, and in 
but few do the streams flow continuously. When the rain comes 
it is usually in the form of spasmodic showers. It falls in sheets, 
and flowing rapidly off the upper land, fills these canyons to a 
great depth. For a few hours, perhaps, they are rushing tor- 
rents, and then the beds of the canyons are left as dry and hot 
as before. This region is, on the whole, an arid one. The high 
plateaus are, however, green and fertile, covered with pines, 
spruces, and waving grasses, and bedecked with gayly painted 
flowers. But as one descends the aspect of nature changes. The 
spruces, aspens, and waving grasses disappear, and are replaced 
by the pinon pine and cedar; then by artemisia, which is suc- 
ceeded by the cactus, yucca, and mesquite; while finally, upon 
the lower plateaus, little if any vegetation exists. The lower 
plateaus of the Colorado are as completely a desert as any part 
of the Sahara. 

The Great Basin. — West of the basin of the Colorado 
is another peculiar region, in which, owing to deficient rainfall, 
no system of drainage has yet been developed. It is an inland 
basin, without drainage to either ocean. Though known as the 
Great Basin, it is in reality a group of many basins. At ordi- 
nar}^ seasons each of these basins is independent of every other. 
The streams flowing into them either sink into the soil or evap- 
orate to the thirsty atmosphere. On those rare occasions when 
the rain falls heavily, several of the basins may be connected 
one with another by temporary streams. The surface of the 
Great Basin is an alternation of broad valleys, deeply filled 
with sand and soil washed from their sides, and with sharp, 



THE NATIONAL DOMAIN H 

narrow, abrupt mountain ranges trending nearly north and 
south. Upon the east this basin is separated from the Colorado 
valley by the Wasatch range, and upon the west the Sierra 
Nevada separates it from the valley of California. The north- 
ern and southern boundaries are ill-defined, consisting in the 
main of gentle elevations in the midst of valleys. 

Salt Lake Basin. — The largest of the basins of which the 
Great Basin is composed, is that of Grreat Salt lake, which col- 
lects most of the streams flowing down the west wall of the 
Wasatch range, into this Dead Sea of America, where the water 
is evaporated and restored to the atmosphere. Another of these 
basins, which lies at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada, col- 
lects the waters flowing from that range and from the interior 
of the basin, in a series of lakes and swamps, whence it is evap- 
orated. These are known as the Carson and Humboldt sinks. 

Sierra Nevada. — The Sierra Nevada forms the west wall 
of the Great Basin. It is a broad, massive range, rising steeply 
on the east, and descending by long spurs to the valley of Cali- 
fornia on the west. Near the southern end it has its greatest 
altitude, nearly fifteen thousand feet, thus exceeding all other 
elevations in the country, with the exception of certain mountains 
in Alaska. Toward the north it diminishes in height, and 
disappears as a range near the gorge of Pitt river. 

Cascade Range. — Northward through Washington and 
Oregon, the line of elevation is continued by a volcanic plateau, 
upon which stand numerous extinct volcanoes, forming what is 
known as the Cascade range. Among these there are several 
peaks exceeding fourteen thousand feet in height, such as Shasta 
and Rainier. 

West of these ranges lies a great valley, stretching from 
Puget Sound to southern California. Though broken in north- 
ern California by mountain spurs, it is practically a continuous 
valley. It lies for the most part not far above sea level; it is 
well watered in the northern portion, but in the southern part it 
becomes arid. Between this valley and the Pacific lie a series 
of ranges, the Coast ranges, consisting mostly of long, parallel 
ridges, which, with the narrow valleys included between them, 
extend to the Pacific coast. 



12 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

This mountain region abounds in strange scenes. The forces 
of nature have liere been exerted upon a tremendous scale, 
building up mountains and eroding oanvons and gorges. In 
some places great floods of lava have been jioured out, and have 
IIowhhI over the hind, producing immense basalt plains and lava 
beds. At other points volcanic eruptions have built up moun- 
tain ))eaks. Nowhere have the forces of erosion been displayed 
upon such a magnificent scale, and nowhere are their results so 
easily and clearly read. The great canyons, cliffs, mesas, and 
buttes of the Colorado basin, are their work. Their crowning 
labor is the grand series of canyons of the Colorado, which, 
stretching for a thousand miles, culminates in the Grand Canyon, 
six thousand feet in depth and scores of miles in length. 

In some j)arts of this region the volcanic forces are still smoul- 
dering. A hot spring upon the summit of Mount Shasta, and 
smoke from other peaks in the Cascade range, bear witness that 
the intonial fires are not extinct. But it is in Yellowstone 
Park, the region where in times past the god of fire has held 
high carnival, that the most striking evidences of his reign are 
still seen. Over this region has been poured a Hood of molten 
rock. In it was buried the vegetation of the past, and in the 
midst of volcanic masses are now to be found trunks of trees 
changed to amethyst, opal, chalcedony, and quartz crystals. 

In this region there are hot springs and geysers, in such 
abundance and magnitude as to throw all others, the world over, 
completely in the shade. Those of Iceland and New Zealand 
are petty affairs in comparison. Over an area of nearly four 
thousand square miles hot springs are omnipresent They are 
found literally by the thousand, and are of all sizes, from a few 
inches aei'oss to areas of many acres. "Where Iceland has two 
or three active geysers, the Yellowstone Park has hundreds. 
The amount of boiling water poured out from the bowels of the 
earth is simply fabulous. The water of the Firehole river tlows 
hot from the Greyser Basins. 

Temperature. — The United States lies entirely within 
the temperate zone, and the mean annual temperature ranges 
from seventy-five tlegrees Fahrenheit down to forty degrees; 
the temperature, of course, diminishing northwai'd, and as 



THE NATIONAL DOMAIN 13 

the altitude above the sea increases. The mean temperature of 
the hottest month, July, ranges from eighty-five down to sixty- 
five degrees, and that of the coldest month, January, from sixty- 
five degrees down to near the zero point. 

The maximum temperature rarely exceeds one hundred de- 
grees, while the minimum is sometimes fifty degrees below 
zero. In the eastern, well-watered part of the country, where 
the atmosphere is moist, and upon the northwestern coast where 
similar conditions prevail, the range of temperature between 
summer and winter and between day and night is not excessive. 

In the mountain region of the west, however, where the atmos- 
phere is dry, the range is often very great. It is in this region 
that excessively high and excessively low temperatures are occa- 
sionally experienced. At Yuma, near the mouth of the Colorado 
river, the temperature in summer often exceeds one hundred and 
fifteen degrees, and when it falls to one hundred degrees people 
put on their flannels. On the other hand, in Montana, minimum 
temperatures of minus fiftj'-two degrees have been repeatedly 
recorded ; although, on the whole, the climate of Montana is 
exceptionally mild, considering its latitude and altitude above 
sea level. 

Rainfall. — The rainfall of the United States differs widely 
in different parts of the country. Over the eastern half it is 
abundant. It diminishes upon the plains, and in the mountain 
regions of the west it is scanty. Over the northwest coast, again, 
it is more than abundant. The rainfall of tlie east is derived in 
the main from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea. The 
south winds come to the Gulf coast laden with moisture, and, 
encountering a cool land, dc])osit it as rain. Moving northward, 
they become dryer, and the rainfall is consequently reduced. 

A similar action takes [)lacc upon the Atlantic coast, but the 
breadth of its area of operations is less. Thus we find along the 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the heaviest rainfall of the eastern part 
of the United States. On the Gulf coast it reaches, and some- 
times exceeds, sixty inches per annum. Proceeding northward, 
the rainfall diminishes, and about the Great Lakes it is as low as 
thirty inches ; but here the diminution in rainfall is partly made 
up by the diminished evaporation, due to the colder climate. 



14 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Passing westwanl up the slope of the Great Plains, the rain- 
fall diminishes, and jn the neighborhood of the one-hundredth 
meridian it commonly amounts to less than twenty inches. The 
rainfall within the mountain reerion as a rule ranges from ten 
inches upward, being greatest on the hioh mountains, whose 
altitude induces precipitation from the air currents, and lowest 
in the valleys and on the plateaus. The most arid part of the 
country is the Great Basin, whose rainfall rarely exceeds ten 
inches, and in many localities falls to four or tive. 

On the Pacitic coast a ditferent condition of things prevails. 
Here are found well-defined wet and dry seasons. Their wetness 
and dryness depend upon the latitude, the rainfall being much 
greater in the north than in the south. The annual rainfall at 
the Strait of Fuca has been as great as one hundred and twenty- 
five inches, while at San Diego it is often as low as five 
inches. This chauore in rainfall with the change of season and 
of latitude, is due to the relative temperatures of the sea and the 
land. Warm westerly winds from the Pacific reach the coast 
saturated with moisture. The temperature of these air currents 
does not vary much from summer to winter : but the tempera- 
ture of the land varies greatly, so that in winter the currents, 
upon reaching the coast, encounter a relatively cold land, which 
chills them and induces precipitation. 

The contrast between the temperatures of air currents and 
the land, increases as the latitude increases : consequently the 
precipitation increases northward and diminishes southward. 
After passing the Coast range and the great Pacific valley, these 
air currents encounter the peaks of the Cascade range and the 
Sierra Nevada. They are forced to great altitudes, are chilled, 
and shed upon the^e ranges all the moisture that is left in them, 
and in that desiccated condition they blow over the desert to the 
eastward as dry winds. Hence it is that the winter winds are 
dry in the western mountain regions. 

In the summer all this is changed. Then the land, with the 
exception of the highest mountains, is relatively warmer than the 
sea, and the moist air currents coming from the sea blow over 
the Coast ranges with little loss of moisture, and climb the Sierra 
and Cascades, upon which they deposit a greater amount : but 



THE NATIONAL DOMAIN 15 

tliej still contain enough in their eastward progress to water with 
frequent showers the mountains and valleys of Colorado, New 
Mexico, and Texas. Hence it is that the summer season is the 
rainy season of these States. 

From the above brief outline it is easy to understand the 
impropriety of speaking of the climate of the United States, for 
the country contains within itself the widest possible variations 
of climate. It is one of the wettest and one of the dryest coun- 
tries on the globe, it is one of the hottest and one of the coldest ; 
and the folly of the assumption of European writers, that the so- 
called American climate is developing an American species of 
mankind, is made apparent when the facts are stated. 

Forests. — ^The eastern part of the United States, from the 
Mississippi to the Atlantic, including southern Missouri, Arkan- 
sas, and eastern Texas, is, on the whole, a forested region. 
Throughout this part of the country timber grows freely. It is 
true that portions of Illinois and adjacent States were prairies 
when settlement began; but, except where cultivated, they are 
fast growing up to woodland under the protective influences of 
man. 

It is said, too, that the Appalachian valley was also a prairie; 
but it is now covered with forests, except where cultivated. The 
western part of Washington and Oregon, and the western part of 
California, are also forested regions, and most of the mountain 
ranges of the west are wooded ; but the valleys, plains, and 
jilateaus of this region and the Great Plains, are devoid of tree 
growth. In all this region the rainfall is not sufficient to support 
trees, if we except two or three scrubby species which are pecu- 
liar to an arid climate. 

It is estimated that more than one- third of the area of the 
United States is at present covered with timber. This estimate 
takes account not only of the area naturally devoid of trees, but 
also of the areas which have been denuded for purposes of culti- 
vation and other requirements of civilization. 



GOVERNMENT 



The government of the United States is a pure democracy. 
It is in the most complete sense a government by the people, 
from the smallest political subdivision, the township, up to the 
national government. The machinerj^ of government is abso- 
lutely controlled by the people governed. It is therefore home 
rule pure and simple. Matters concerning the township, and the 
township onlj^, are controlled by the township government ; those 
conTjerning a group of townships are controlled by the county 
government. 

Matters which have a wider bearing and influence than the 
county are controlled by the state government, and in turn those 
of national importance and bearing are in the hands of the 
general government. Thus, speaking broadly, the powers and 
functions of the greater gov^ernments are restricted to matters of 
general importance and concern, and as far as is consistent with 
the general welfare, the powers of government are given to the 
minor units. Naturally enough, this distribution of power 
among the different units of government differs in different 
States, depending upon the stage of settlement, upon the charac- 
ter of the occupations of the people, and, to some extent, upon 
their traditions and social customs. Of the distribution of 
powers, more will be said later. 

To the foregoing it is scarcely necessary to add that, under 
this system of government, the individual enjoys the greatest 
freedom consistent with the due protection of the rights of others. 
To this large measure of individual freedom is due, in great 
part, the development of the strong, and at the same time 
adaptable, American type of mankind, which has already made 
this country facile princeps in ail the elements of national great- 
ness. 



GOVERNMENT 17 

In each unit of government three elements are to be plainly 
recognized — the legislative, executive, and judicial. In the 
national and state governments, these are clearly distinguished 
by different sets of officers and related organizations. In county 
and township governments, the legislative and executive func- 
tions are often exercised by the same officers. The judicial 
function is everywhere distinctly differentiated from the others. 



GENERAL GOVERNMENT 

In the general government the President is the chief executive 
officer. Under the Constitution he must be a native of the 
United States, and must be at least thirty-five years of age at 
the time of his election. His term of service is four years, and 
he may be reelected ; but precedent has decreed that he shall be 
reelected only once. His election is effected by what the fathers 
designed to be a very judicious piece of machinery, but this has 
degenerated into a mere formality. The Constitution requires 
that the qualified voters shall choose electors, such electors being 
in the proportion of one for every senator and representative in 
Congress ; that the electors of each state thus chosen shall meet 
on a certain day within that state and vote for President and 
Vice-President, transmitting the result to Congress, which pub- 
licly declares it. 

It was intended that the electors should be men chosen for 
the purpose of sitting as a deliberative body, and selecting 
according to their judgment the men best fitted for these high 
offices. As a matter of fact, while this routine is carried out to 
the letter, the selection of candidates for the Presidency and 
Vice-Presidency is made beforehand by conventions of the great 
parties, and the party electors are pledged in the strongest pos- 
sible way to vote for the candidates of their respective parties and 
thus simply carry out the dictates of the party which elected 
them. Wooden men would answer the purpose equally well. 

A majority, not a plurality, of the electors decides the elec- 
tion, and when, as has happened on rare occasions, there is no 
choice by the electors, it goes to the House of Representatives, 
2 



18 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

the members of which vote, not individually, but by states ; so 
that in this event each state, whatever the number of its delegation, 
has the same weight in electing the President as every other. 

Cabinet. — The President, upon assuming office, selects a 
number of advisers, known collectively as his Cabinet. These 
are as follows : Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, 
Secretary of War, Attorney -General, Postmaster-General, Secre- 
tary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior, and Secretary of 
Agriculture. These selections are subject to confirmation by the 
Senate. In case of the removal, death, or inability of both the 
President and Vice-President, these officials succeed to the Presi- 
dency in the order here given : first, the Secretary' of State; or, in 
case of his death, the Seeretarj^ of the Treasury, and so on. 

The members of the Cabinet, besides being the President's 
advisers, are executive heads of departments of government, the 
scope of their departments being indicated to a certain extent 
by their designations. Within these departments the work of 
government is further subdivided into bureaus, the heads of 
which are subordinate to the Cabinet officers ; and these bureaus, 
in turn, are separated into divisions and sections. The salary of 
the President is fifty thousand dollars a year ; that of the Vice- 
President and of members of the Cabinet, eight thousand dollars. 

Senate. — The legislative branch consists of two houses of 
Congress, known as the Senate and House of Eepresentatives. 
The former consists of two members elected from each state for 
a term of six years, so arranged that one-third of the body goes 
out of office every two years. A senator must be a resident of the 
state from which he is elected, and must be at least thirty years 
of age. The Vice-President is the presiding officer of the Senate. 

As there are now forty-four states in the Union, the number 
of senators is eighty-eight, and, being elected for terms of con- 
siderable length, they are not as closely in touch with their 
constituents as members of the House of Eepresentatives. They 
are more deliberative and less likely to be swayed by the 
impulse of the moment. The Senate is therefore regarded as 
the more conservative of the two legislative bodies. The com- 
pensation of a senator is five thousand dollars a year. 

House of Representatives. — The House of Eepresenta- 



GOVERNMENT 19 

tives at present comprises three Inundred and thirty-six mem- 
bers, including the delegates from the territories who are 
permitted to participate in debates but have no vote. The 
representation from each state is proportioned to the number of 
inhabitants. Eepresentatives are elected for two years only. 
Each representative must be a resident of the district from whicli 
he is elected, and must be at least twenty-five years of age. This 
body chooses its own presiding officer, who is known as the 
Speaker, and in cases of contested elections decides upon its 
membership. Being the popular branch of the government — that 
is, the branch in closest touch with the people — it claims and as 
a rule maintains the right to originate business, and especially 
to propose the appropriation of funds from the Treasury. The 
salary of a representative is five thousand dollars a year. 

The work of Congress is carried on mainly by means of com- 
mittees. In the House of Eepresentatives there are in all fifty- 
seven standing committees for specific purposes, the members of 
which are chosen by the Speaker. To these committees are 
referred bills and measures presented to the House which fall 
within their respective provinces. In committee measures 
receive careful consideration, and, as a rule, the House accepts 
the committee's report. Under this method careful legislation is 
possible, while otherwise it would be impossible. A similar 
committee system prevails in the Senate; but there the com- 
mittee is a less powerful organization, and justlj" so, since the 
Senate is a smaller and more deliberative body, and moreover 
originates fewer measures. 

Judiciary. — The judiciary of the general government con- 
sists of three classes of courts : First, the Supreme Court of the 
United States, which sits in Washington, and is composed of a 
chief justice and eight associate justices, who are appointed by 
the President and confirmed by the Senate ; their tenure of 
office is for life, unless impeached. Second, the United States 
circuit courts, which are held at various places throughout the 
country, and are presided over by individual members of the 
Supreme Court. Third, the United States district courts, over 
which preside district judges, who are also appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate. 



20 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



DISTRIBUTION OF POA¥ERS 

There has been a constant struggle ever since the organization 
of the government, as to the powers vested in the general 
government and those retained by the states. All the difficul- 
ties encountered by the fathers in attempting to form the federal 
government arose from this jealousy of centralization. With 
the exception of the war of the Rebellion, this has been a 
peaceful struggle, but none the less it has been constant and 
intense. However, the general government has steadily main- 
tained and extended its control over questions of common inter- 
est to all or several of the states. 

All matters connected with foreign relations, the coinage or 
printing of money, the postal system, the collection of revenue 
whether by customs or excise taxes, the taking of the decen- 
nial census, the administration of the public lands, the issuance 
of patents and copyrights, the lighting and protection of the 
coasts, and the public defense whether by land or sea, are in 
the hands of the general government. There are many other 
matters in which it shares the control jointly with the States. 
Through its Department of Agriculture and through its Sur- 
veys, it aids in the development of agricultural and mineral 
resources. It collects and furnishes information concerning the 
progress of education. It aids in the maintenance of the supply 
of food fishes, and of numerous agencies which assist in the col- 
lection and dissemination of scientific information. 

Executive Divisions. — The executive departments of 
the government are eight in number : The Department of 
State, which has jurisdiction over foreign affairs ; the Treasury 
Department, which has charge of all matters relating to the 
collection and disbursement of the revenues of the government; 
the War Department, which controls the army ; the Department 
of Justice, which prosecutes all government cases in the United 
States courts, and acts as the legal adviser of the Executive; 
the Post Office Department, which manages the transportation 
and distribution of the mails; the Navy Departmeot; the 



GOVERNMENT 21 

Department of the Interior, which has general control over 
internal matters of administration, and which embraces a great 
variety of bureaus ; and, finally, the Department of Agriculture, 
which is primarily concerned in fostering that great branch of 
industry. Besides these, there are several bureaus or institu- 
tions which are not attached to any of the regular departments. 

Department of State. — This department, which is re- 
garded as first in rank, has jurisdiction over all matters con- 
nected with our foreign relations, including treaties in extradition 
of fugitives from justice and the granting of passports. It has 
control of the ministers to foreign countries and consuls in for- 
eign ports, and is the custodian of the Great Seal of the United 
States. It also publishes the laws and resolutions of Congress, 
amendments to the Constitution, executive orders and proclama- 
tions. The bureaus of this department are six in number; 
namely, the Bureau of Indexes and Archives, the Diplomatic 
Bureau, Consular Bureau, Bureau of Accounts, Bureau of Rolls 
and Library, and Bureau of Statistics. The duties of these sev- 
eral bureaus are indicated by their names. 

Treasury Department. — This is a large department, com- 
prising many bureaus and employing an army of clerks. The 
collection of the revenues is done under two bureaus, those of the 
Commissioners of Customs and of Internal Revenue. The dis- 
bursement of public funds is supervised by two comptrollers, who 
pass upon legal points connected therewith, and by six auditors, 
who examine the correctness and validit}^ of accounts. The Treas- 
urer has charge of the funds or deposits in the Treasury. The 
Register of the Treasury is the book-keeper of the United States. 
The Comptroller of the Currency has control over the national 
banks. The Mint Bureau supplies the coinage, and the Bureau 
of Engraving and Printing supplies the issues of paper money. 
Besides all these, which may be classified as executive bureaus, 
there are others, attached to the Treasury Department, of a scien- 
tific or semi-scientific nature. The construction of public build- 
ings throughout the United States is also controlled by one of 
its bureaus, presided over by the supervising architect. 

"The Treasury Department maintains a Bureau of Statistics, 
for the collection and publication of statistics of foreign trade 



22 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

and immigration. It also maintains a Life-Saving Service, the 
best in the world ; by this service much of our coast, inchiding 
the most important portions, is patrolled dav and night by par- 
ties fully equipped with the most modern appliances for saving 
life and property from shipwreck. It includes the Light House 
establishment, by which the entire coast and most of the naviga- 
ble rivers are lighted. It also controls the Coast and Geo- 
detic Survey, to which is intrusted the survey of thfe coast and 
the geodetic triangulation of the interior of the country. 

War DepaTtiiieiit. — A partial enumeration of the bureaus 
of which the departments are composed, with a slight account 
of the work carried on bv each, will illustrate the scope and 
great varietv of the functions of the general government. The 
War Department is divided into twelve bureaus, or sub-depart- 
ments, whose names in most cases describe their functions. They 
are: Army Headquarters, Adjutant General's office, Inspector- 
General's office, Judge-Advocate-General's office. Bureau of Sub- 
sistence, Quartermasters', Ordnance, Medical, and Pay Depart- 
ments, Engineers' Department, Department of Public Buildings 
and Grounds, and Office of Publication of War Eecords. 

Department of Justice. — This is a small department, 
whose functions, as stated above, are to advise the President 
and the heads of other departments upon legal points, and 
through assistant attorneys-general and United States district 
attorneys, to prosecute cases in the United States courts on 
behalf of the general government. 

Post Office Department.— The work of the Post Office 
Department is entirely of an executive character, and a state- 
ment of its operations is presented in a later portion of this 
work. 

Navy Department. — The Navy Department embraces a 
large number of bureaus and offices, among which are the follow- 
ing : Bureau of Ordnance, of Equipment, of Navigation, of 
Yards and Docks, of Provisions and Clothing, of Steam Engi- 
neering, of Medicine and Surgery, of Construction, of Inspection 
and Survey, and of Naval Intelligence. It contains a Hydro- 
graphic office, whose function is to supply charts to the navy, 
and for that juirpose it not only engraves and prints charts of 



GOVERNMENT 23 

the coasts of foreign lands, but makes surveys with the same end 
in view. It contains also the Naval Observatory, one of the best 
equipped in the world, and the Nautical Almanac office, which 
prepares the American Nautical Almanac, for the use of the 
merchant marine as well as the navy. 

Department of the Interior. — The Department of the 
Interior was not created, but has grown. To it have been attached 
bureaus which did not fit elsewhere, and consequently it contains 
a great variety of them. It has control of the survey and dis- 
position of the public lauds, of the issuance of patents, of the 
granting of pensions, and of the relations of the government 
with the Indians, a bureau being assigned to each of these mat- 
ters. The Bureau of Education collects and publishes statistics 
of education throughout the country. The Geological Survey 
studies and reports upon the geology and mineral wealth of the 
national domain, and, incidentally, is preparing a topographic 
map thereof ; indeed, this great work, although an incidental, 
has for ten years been the principal work of the Geological 
Survey office. Finally, the Interior Department contains the 
Census office, a temporary bureau, constituted every ten years 
for the purpose of taking account of stock. 

Department of Agricvilture. — It is the function of 
the Department of Agriculture to aid and foster the agricul- 
tural industry. To this end it collects and disseminates statistics 
of crops. It searches for the means of protecting crops from 
disease and insect enemies. It tests the fitness of soils and 
climates for new products, it studies the forest resources, and 
thus in many ways it advances the interests of the farmer. To 
this Department is attached the Weather Bureau, whose prin- 
cipal function is to predict the weather. 

Other Departments and Bnreaus. — The Fish Com- 
mission, an independent bureau, exists for the purpose, prima- 
rily, of increasing the supply of food fishes. Incidentally it has 
contributed greatly to our knowledge of the life and habits of 
the denizens of the briny deep and of our lakes and rivers. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission is likewise unattached. 
It has jurisdiction over tlie railways of the country, under the 
laws ret(ulatino- interstate commerce. 



24 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

The Department or Bureau of Labor is an office for tbe col- 
lection and dissemination of statistics relating to labor, its com- 
pensation, hours, relation to capital, etc. 

Most of the civil employes of the United States are under the 
protection of a civil service law, whose chief provision is that 
appointments to the service can be made only as a result of 
competitive examination, free to all, with some slight restric- 
tions as to residence, etc. There is a commission, known as the 
Civil Service Commission, for conducting such examinations. 

Sinitlisoiiian Institution. — There is under the control 
of the government one institution of a peculiar character. 
Many years ago, Mr. James Smithson bequeathed a large sum 
of money to the United States for the increase and diffusion of 
knowledge. Partly with the income from this bequest, and 
partly by appropriation from the United States Treasury, the 
Smithsonian Institution has been founded and maintained, and 
to it have been added the National Museum, the Bureau of 
Ethnology, and the National Zoological Park. 

The work of this institution has been mainl}^ in pure science. 
Its uniform policy has been to aid original investigation, and, 
whenever practicable, to assist it to aid itself. Thus it supported 
the first tottering steps of the science of meteorology, and at 
last saw it recognized by the government in the form of the 
Weather Bureau. Similarly with fish culture, now supported 
in the Fish Commission. It deserves no small share of the 
credit of establishing the Geological Survey, the National 
Museum, and the Bureau of Ethnology. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATES 

The Union, which originally consisted of thirteen states, is 
now composed of forty-four states, five territories, and the fed- 
eral District of Columbia. The political organization of each 
state is very similar to that of the general government, the 
chief executive officer being the governor. The legislative func- 
tions are carried on by a legislature, which consists in each case 
of two houses. Each state has a judiciary of its own, for the 



O VERNMENT 25 

purpose of interpreting and enforcing state laws. The govern- 
ment of the territories rests in part with the people of the ter- 
ritories, and in part with the general government. The Presi- 
dent appoints the territorial governors, while the people elect 
their legislatures. 

District of Columbia. — The District of Columbia, the 
seat of the national government, is the only portion of this 
great domain which is not in any respect under home rule. 
Strange to say, this, the capital of the greatest and freest 
Republic, is in its form of government an absolute mon- 
archy. Its executive consists of three commissioners, who 
are appointed by the President of the United States. Its 
laws are enacted by Congress, and its judiciary is appointed 
by the President. Therefore the people of the District have 
no voice in the management of their public affairs, beyond 
the privilege of protest and petition. As originally consti- 
tuted, the District of Columbia comprised an area ten miles 
square. The Virginia portion was ceded to the United States, 
July 16, 1790, and the Maryland portion, March 30, 1791. 
Subsequently, July 9, 1846, the Virginia portion was re-ceded 
to that state. 

The following is a list of the states and territories, with a 
brief account of their organization : 

Alabama. — Alabama territory was created from a part of 
Mississippi territory, March 8, 1817. Its limits were those 
of the present state, excepting that the thirty-first parallel was 
its southern boundarj^ It was admitted as a state, December 
14, 1819. 

Alaska. — Alaska was obtained by purchase from the Russian 
government in 1867, for the sum of $7,200,000 in gold. It was 
given a territorial government, July 27, 1868. 

Arizona. — This territory was formed in part from the first 
Mexican purchase, and m ]:)art from the Gadsden purchase, by 
net of Congress, February 24, 1863. 

Arkansas. —Arkansas territory was created by act of 
March 2, 1819, from a part of the Louisiana purchase, then 
known as Missouri territory. It was admitted as a state with 
its present boundaries. June 15, 1836. 



26 THE BUILDINO OF A NATION 

Cciliforiiia. — This state was admitted September 9, 1850, 
its area being taken from the territory acquired from Mexico 
by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

Colortiilo. — Colorado territory was created Februaiy 28, 
1861, its area being taken partly from the Louisiana purchase, 
partly from the territory acquired from Mexico, and partly 
from the area purchased from Texas. It was admitted as a 
state, August 1, 1876. 

Coiiiiecticut. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
ratified the Constitution, January 9, 1788. 

Delaware. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It was 
the first to ratify the Constitution, having taken this step Janu- 
ary 7, 1787. 

Florida. — Florida territory was created March 30, 1822, 
from the area purchased from Spain three years previously. It 
was admitted as a state, March 3, 1845. 

Greorg'ia. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It adopted 
the Constitution, January 2, 1788. 

Idaho. — Idaho territory was formed March 3, 1863, from 
Oregon, which was acquired by prior settlement. It was ad- 
mitted as a state, July 3, 1890. 

Illinois. — The territory of Illinois was formed by act of 
February 3, 1809, from a part of the territory northwest of 
the Ohio river. It was admitted as a state, with its boundaries 
greatly reduced, December 3, 1818. 

Indiana. — Indiana territory was created May 7, 1800, from 
a part of Northwest territory. Its boundaries then enclosed a 
much greater area than those of the present state. December 
11, 1816, it was admitted as a state, with its present bounda- 
ries. 

Indian Territory. — This is not in the proper sense a ter- 
ritory of the United States, but rather a group of Indian reser- 
vations, established from time to time as occasion has arisen. 
The area included in the present territory is a part of the original 
Louisiana purchase. 

Iowa. — Iowa territory was created July 3, 1838, when it 
included a much greater area than at present. Its area was 
embraced in the Louisiana purchase. March 3, 1845, it was 



GOVERNMENT 27 

admitted as a state, and December 28, 1846, its northern and 
western boundaries were changed, giving to the state its present 
limits. 

Kansas. — The territory of Kansas was created Maj 30, 
1854, its area being taken from that of the Louisiana purchase. 
January 29, 1861, it was admitted as a state, with its present 
limits. 

Kentucky. — Kentucky was admitted June 1, 1792, with its 
present limits, having been taken from the western portion of 
Virginia, 

Louisiana.— The territory of Orleans was created March 3, 
1805, and comprised nearly the same area as the present state 
of Louisiana. April 30, 1812, this territory was admitted as 
a state, under the name of Louisiana, and in the same year 
its limits were extended to include the present area. 

Maine. — The ai-ea of the state of Maine was originally a 
part of Massachusetts, and was known as the District of Maine. 
It was detached from Massachusetts and admitted as a state, 
March 15, 1820. 

Maryland. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It adopted 
the Constitution, April 28, 1788. 

Massachusetts. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
adopted the Constitution, February 6, 1788. 

Michigan. — The territory of Michigan was formed June 30, 
1805, its area being taken from what was originally the North- 
west territory. It was admitted as a state, January 26, 1837, 
with its boundaries considerably changed from those of the 
territory. 

Minnesota. — The territory of Minnesota was created March 
3, 1849. Its ai-ea was derived in ))art from the old Northwest 
territory, and in part from the Louisiana purchase. It was 
admitted as a state. May 11, 1858, with its limits greatly re- 
duced. 

Mississippi. — The original territory of Mississippi, organ- 
ized April 7, 1798, was very different from the present state, 
and comprised an area in the southern part of the present 
states of Alabama and Mississippi. In 1804 this territory was 
enlarged to include almost the entire area of these two states. 



28 THE BUILDING OF A XATION 

It was subsequently dimiuished by the formation of the territory 
of Alabama, and December 10. 1S17. it was admitteil as a state 
with its present boundaries. 

Missouri. — The original Missouri territory, as constituted bv 
act of April 30, 1S12. inclnded all the Louisiana purchase with 
the exception of the present state of Louisiana. One after 
another, states were carved from it. and August 10, 1S21, the 
state of Missouri was admittetl, with its boundaries the same as 
at present, excepting the western boundary, which was extended 
westward in 1836. 

3Iontaiia. — Montana territory was created May 26, 1864, 
its area being originally part of the Louisiana purchase. It 
was admitted as a state. November 8, 1889. 

Nebraska. — The territory of Nebraska was organized under 
the act of May 80, 185J:, and originally comprised a large pro- 
portion of what was the Louisiana purchase. It was reduced 
by the formation of several states and territories, anil March 1, 
1867. was admitted as a state. 

Nevada. — Nevada territory was created by act of March 2. 
1861. from a part of the territory lii-st acquired from Mexico. 
Its original area was much less tliau at present. It was admitted 
as a state, October 31, 1864. with its eastern limits enlarged, and 
subsequently, in 1866. it was still further enlarged so as to in- 
clude the present area. 

New Hampshire. — One of the Thirteen Original States. 
It ratified the Constitution, June 21, 1788. 

New Jersey. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
ratified the Constitution, December 18, 1787. 

New Mexico. — The territory of New Mexico was created 
by act of December 13, 1850. Originally it included its pres- 
ent area, with the exception of that part of the Gadsden purchase 
which it now embraces. This was added by Congress. Decem- 
ber 30, 1853. 

New York. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It adopt- 
ed the Constitution. July 26, 178S. 

North Carolina.— One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
adopted the Cvmstitution, November 21. 1789. 

North Dakota.— The territorv of Dakota was created bv 



00 VERNMENT 29 

act of March 2, 1861, from a part of the original Louisiana 
purchase. From it several states have been formed, and the 
remainder was cut in two parts and these parts admitted as states, 
November 2, 1889, under the names North and South Dakota. 

Ohio. — Ohio was formed and admitted as a state, November 
29, 1802, its area being taken from Northwest territory. In 1836 
the northern boundary was slightly changed, a narrow strip of 
land being added. 

Oklahoma. — The territory of Oklahoma, originally a part 
of the Louisiana purchase, was formed May 2, 1890. 

Oregon. — The territory of Oregon was created by act of 
August 14, 1848, and originally included the present areas of 
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, which were acquired by prior 
settlement, immediately after the purchase of Louisiana. It was 
admitted as a state, with its present boundaries, February 14, 
1859. 

Peiiiisylvauia. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
adopted the Constitution, December 12, 1787. 

Rhode Island. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
was the last to adopt the Constitution, the act bearing date May 
29, 1790. 

Sonth Carolina. — One of the Thirteen Original States. It 
adopted the Constitution, May 23, 1788. 

Sonth Dakota. — (See North Dakota.) 

Tennessee. — Tennessee was admitted as a state, with its 
present boundaries, June 1, 1796. Its area was taken from the 
territory south of the Ohio river. 

Texas. — This state, which in 1836 achieved its independence 
of Mexico, was admitted December 29, 1845. It tlien included 
a large territory subsequently sold to the United States, which 
now forms portions of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. 

Utah. — Utah territory was created by act of September 9, 
1850, and originally embraced, besides its own area, that of 
Nevada. 

Vermont. — This was the first state admitted to the Union 
after the adoption of the Constitution. The act of Congress 
bears date March 4, 1791. Its area was in dispute between 
New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. 



80 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



Virginia.— One of the Thirteen Original States. It adopted 
the Constitution, June 25, 1788. 

Washing-ton.— The territory of Washington was created 
by act of March 2, 1853, from a part of Oregon territory. It 
originally included, besides its own area, that of Idaho. It was 
admitted as a state, with its present boundaries, November 11, 
1889. 

West Virginia.— The state of West Virginia was set off 
from Virginia and admitted, June 19, 1863. 

Wisconsin. — The territory of Wisconsin was formed by 
act of June 3, 1836, from a part of the Northwest territory. 
It was admitted as a state, May 29, 1848, with its present bound- 
aries. 

Wyoming.— Wyoming territory was created, July 25, 1868, 
with its present area. It was admitted as a state, July 10, 
1890. 

The following table presents the 

AREAS OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES IN SQUARE MILES 



States and 
Tkrritokies 



Total. 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut . . 

Delaware 

District of Columbia 

Florida 

(ieorgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian Territory. . 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Mieliif,'an 

Minnesota 

Mississijipi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 



Gross 


Water 


Land 


area 


surface 


surface 


3,025,()00 


55,600 


2,970,000 




52,250 


710 


51.540 


113,020 


100 


112.920 


5:ia50 


805 


.53,tl45 


]r>s,;^io 


2,380 


1.55,98(1 


U«,'.)25 


280 


U«,(i451 


4,i)'.K) 


145 


4.845 


2,050 


90 


l.iKJOl 


70 


10 


60 


58,680 


4,440 


I>1,240 


59,475 


495 


.58,9.^0 


ai,800 


510 


W.2".KI 


5(),()50 


650 


5(i,(l(Kl| 


3(),350 


440 


a5.9U) 


31,400 


400 


31.0(H) 


50,025 


550 


,55,475 


82,080 


380 


H1,7(K) 


40,4(X) 


400 


40.(MKli 


48,7^0 


3.300 


4.5,4211' 


33,040 


3,145 


29.895 


12,210 


2,350 


9,8(K) 


8,315 


275 


8,040 


58,915 


1,485 


.57,430 


8;i,365 


4,160 


79,205 


46,810 


470 


46,340 


69,415 


680 


68,7*5 


14(i,080 


770 


14.5,310 


77,510 


670 


7(i,S10 



States and 
Territories 



Nevada 

New Hampshire, . . 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

New York 

North Carolina 

North Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma* 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina 

South Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

\'ennont 

\irginia 

Wasliington 

West Virginia 

Wiseonsin 

\\ youiing 

Delaware Bay .... 

lijuitiin Bay and 
Lo«er N(.\v York 
Bay 



Gross 
area 



110,700 
9,305 
7,815 

122,.580 
49,170 
52,2.50 
70,795 
41,01)0 
39,030 
<Ki.030 
45,215 
1,2.50 
;W,570 
77',(«0 
42,0,50 

265,780 
84,970 
9,.565 
42,4.50 
69,180 
24,780 
.56,040 
97,890 

620 



100 



Water 



surface i surface 



Land 



960 

300 

3(K) 

120 

1..5.50 

3.670 

600 

300 

2(X) 

1,470 

2:W 

1()5 

400 

800 

.300 

3,490 

2,780 

430 

2.;325 

2.300 

135 

1,590 

315 

620 



109.740 

9.005 

7,4.55 

122.460 

47,620 

48,580 

70,195 

40,760 

38,8;M 

94.560 

44.985 

1,085 

30.170 

76.850 

41,7.50 

262.290 

82,190 

9,135 

40.125 

66,880 

24,645 

.54,450 

97,575 



Including Cherokee Outlet and No Man's Land. 



GOVERNMENT 31 



SUBDIVISIONS OF STATES AND COUNTIES 

Eacli state and territory is divided for governmental pur- 
poses into counties, and these counties are further subdivided. 
The distribution of political power between the counties and 
their subdivisions, differs widely in different states ; indeed, 
three distinct systems are apparent in various parts of the 
country. In the New England states the county government 
has very few functions, indeed scarcely any beyond judicial 
ones, while its subdivision, the town or city, has jurisdiction of 
all local concerns, and is by far the most powerful political unit. 

In the southern states, and in the sparsely settled states and 
territories of the west, the county has jurisdiction over practi- 
cally all local matters, and the subdivisions of the county, 
which are known variously in different states as civil districts, 
magisterial districts, beats, hundreds, militia districts, wards, 
etc., have merely minor judicial powers, and serve as election 
districts and for other minor uses. 

In the northern states outside of New England, beginning 
with New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and extending 
westward to the frontier of settlement, a compromise system 
prevails, wherein the powers are quite equally divided between 
the two organizations, the county on the one hand, and the 
township, as it is called, on the other. This system seems, on 
the whole, to be the most acceptable, inasmuch as the new 
states, as soon as they reach a sufficient population to warrant, 
have adopted it one after another, while the southern states 
are constantly tending toward it. 

Various classes of municipalities are incorporated or char- 
tered, the name carried in the charter, and the delegated powers, 
differing in different parts of the country. In certain states all 
incorporated bodies are known as cities of one grade or another ; 
in others, cities, towns, and villages are chartered ; in yet others, 
boroughs, etc. The following table shows the number of civil 
divisions of the United States in 1890, the nearest date to which 
reference can be made: 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



CIVIL DIVISIONS OP THE UNITED STATES IN 1890 

States 44 

Territories 5 

Federal district 1 

Counties, including parishes of Louisiana 2,772 

Towns and townships 20,371 

Other subdivisions of the county 12,000 

Cities 1,623 

Chartered towus, villages, boroughs, etc 8,000 

According to this table there is a total of about 44,800 gov- 
ernments of various kinds existing under and tributary to the 
federal government. All these work in harmony one with 
another. Rarely does any conflict of jurisdiction arise, and in 
all such cases decisions are easily reached through the judiciary 
and readily accepted. 



GOVERNMENT DEBTS 



1890 



$27,524,975,915 



1880 



$27,421,037,643 



1870 



$17,117,640,428 



1860 



$10, 39^,341, 688 



1848 



$7,627,692,215 



NATIONAL DEBT OF THE WORLD, 1848 TO 1890 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 1 




NET PUBLIC DEBT, BY CLASSES OF 
ORGANIZATIONS, IN 1890 




NET NATIONAL DEBT, BY RATES OF 
INTEREST, IN 1890 



GO VERNMENT 



33 



The following table, and the upper diagram on Plate 1, 
facing page 32, show the national debt of the United States, 
and the debts of states, of counties, and of the subdivisions of 
counties, including municipalities and school districts, in 1890. 
In the table these amounts are compared with the correspond- 
ing figures for 1880 : 



GOVERNMENT DEBTS IN 1880 AND 1890 



Character of 


Debt less Sinking Fund 


Pee Capita 


Debt 


1890 


1880 


1890 


1880 


National 

State 

County . . 

Municipal . . 

School district 


$891,960,104 

228,997,389 

145,048.045 

724,463,060 

36.701,948 


$1,922,517,364 

297,244,095 

124,105,027 

684,348,843 

17,580,682 


$14.24 

3.66 

2.32 

11.57 

0.59 


$38.38 

5.93 

2.47 

13.64 

0.35 



National Debt.— December 31, 1892, the national debt, less 
the cash in the Treasury, was $835,000,000, having been reduced 
in the last two and one-half years to the extent of $56,000,000, 
as appears from a comparison with the above table. This 
debt when analyzed is found to consist (a) of $585,000,000 rep- 
resented bj interest-bearing bonds, of which all but $25,000,000 
are at four per cent, and (6) non-interest-bearing debts amount- 
ing to $250,000,000, as shown in the lower diagram on Plate 1, 
facing page 32. This non -interest-bearing debt is composed 
almost entirely of legal tender notes, the gold and silver certifi- 
cates so common in circulation being issued upon an equivalent 
amount of coin or bullion on deposit in the Treasury, and it is 
therefore offset by the item, ''Cash in the Treasury." 

The national debt of this country, prior to the civil war. was 
never of great magnitude. From the beginning of our history 
down to 1825 it oscillated from $45,000,000 to $127,000,000, 
with an average of about $75,000,000. Then it was reduced 
in 1835-36, and we were in the rare position among nations of 
having no debt; but subsequently our obligations were increased 
greatly, and in 1851 they reached $68,000,000, diminishing 
again until 1857, when they were less than $29,000,000. At 



34 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



856 


1 


B57 




ess 


■ 


859 


im 


a BO 


■i 


861 


■^ 




THE NATIONAL DEBT 
LESS CASH IN THE TREASURY 

The figures at the top of the 

scale represent hundreds 

of millions of dollars 




THE NATIONAL DEBT PER CAPITA 

LESS CASH IN TREASURY 

The figures at the top of the 

scale represent dollars 



THE NATIONAL DEBT 1856 TO 1891 



GOVERNMENT 



35 



> a 

■ 
■ 


9 S 


O 7B 1 


























1 i : ; ! 








- 






^^^^^^"*^ 




1 ^^^^^^^^^^ 






^^ 












\ 1 ' " 




^^^^ 




^^ 










1 ^"^^^^ 


^^ 












! 








ANNUAL INTEREST CHARGE 


^^^^ 




1 ^^^^ 


The figures at the top of the 


2^^^^^ 


scale represent mil- 
lions of dollars 


^^"^^^ 


^^^^^^^^^ 




' 




ANNUAL INTEREST CHARGE PER CAPITA 

The figures at the top of the 
scale represent dollars 



THE NATIONAL DEBT, 1856 TO 1891 



3G THE BUILD IXG OF A I^ AT ION 

tLe opening of the war in 1861 the national debt was $90,000,- 
000. Fi'oni that date to 1866 tlie debt increased by enormous 
strides, and in the latter year it reached the overwhelming amount 
of $2,773,000,000, an average of $80 per capita of the population. 
Upon this there was due each year the sum of $148,000,000 
in interest, or more than $4 per annum to each inhabitant. 

Witb the close of the war the nation set itself to paying off 
this enormous burden, and, aided by wise management of its 
finances and unexampled prosperitv, it has done this at a rate 
which the world had never before witnessed. In twenty-seven 
years it has reduced the debt by the sum of $1,938,000,000, or 
at the average rate per annum of over $72,000,000. It is now 
less than one-third what it was in 1866, and with the increase of 
population during the last part of tlie century, the burden upon 
each inhabitant has been reduced to $13. 

The interest has been reduced in a still greater proportion, as 
the credit of the government has risen with each additional pay- 
ment of principal, until now the total annual interest is less 
than $25,000,000, an average of less than forty cents to each 
inhabitant, or one-tenth of what it was in 1866. To-day the credit 
of the United States is the highest of all nations. Its four per 
cent, bonds, due in 1907, are selling at twenty-five per cent, above 
par ; while the three per cents., which were issued a few years 
ago and have since been taken up, wei'e sought for at par with 
the greatest avidity, and quoted in financial markets at a consid- 
erable premium. 

State Debts. — The debts of states aggregated, in 1890, 
$228,997,389, showing a reduction of twenty-three per cent, dur- 
ing the ten years preceding. The indebtedness of states, indi- 
vidually, is set forth in the map on Plate 2, and in the diagrams 
on pages 38 and 39. They show the widest possible diversity 
among the states in this regard. 

In the northern states there is apparently some thought of 
proportion between the amount of debt and the population and 
wealth, but in the southern states no such relation exists. 
This may be due to the origin of the debts of the southern 
states, and their mode of treating them. In many cases these 
debts were created by what were popularly known as " carpet 



GOVERNMENT 37 

bag" governments, wliich had possession of the states for a 
period following the civil war, and sadly abused the respon- 
sibilities they had assumed, creating debt in the most reckless 
manner. In some cases these debts were repudiated by succeed- 
ing administrations, while in others they have been assumed by 
them and efforts are being made for their reduction. 

The diagram on page 38 shows that of all the states Virginia 
has by far the heaviest debt, while she is followed by six other 
southern states. The states least burdened with debt are mainly 
the newer ones of the far west. 

In most cases the debts of individual states have been reduced 
during the last decade, and in some instances this reduction has 
been enormous, when the size of the communities involved is 
taken into account. Thus Massachusetts has reduced her debt 
from $20,000,000 to $7,000,000; Pennsylvania, from nearly 
$14,000,000 to $4,000,000. In a few cases they have been 
increased, but the increase has generally occurred in states where 
values are increasing and to which population is flocking, and 
therefore the increase appears to be warranted. 

There is one case not in the list which requires a special 
explanation, that of the District of Columbia, whose debt is by 
far the largest in proportion to its population. This debt 
amounted in 1890 to $19,781,050, and the per capita debt was 
not less than $85.80. It was incurred in transforming the city 
of Washington from a straggling country village into a beautiful 
city. The work was done rapidly ^nd not in the most economical 
manner. The debt thus incurred, together with the interest, is 
shared b}^ the people of the District and by the United States 
government, in equal proportions. Properly speaking, therefore, 
only one-half of it should be chargeable against the District. 

Debts of Counties and Municipalities The debts of 

counties, which in 1S90 amounted to about $145,000,000, have 
increased slightly during the decade, though at a much less rate 
than the population. 

The debts of municipalities, which are j^roportionally large, 
especially in the case of the larger cities, have also increased 
slightly, being at the rate of less than six per cent., indicating a 
reduction of the per capita debt to a large extent. The muni- 



38 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



cipal debt is at present probably almost the same in amount as 
the national debt. 

The school district debt, while small in total amount, bas more 
than doubled during the decade. Indeed, this is the only fea- 
ture of the public debt of the country which has increased in 
proportion to the population. 



Va. 

Tenn. 

La. 

A /a. 

Mo. 

Ga. 

Ark. 

Ind. 

Md 

N.C. 

Mass 

Ohio 

S C. 

Mich. 

Texas 

Pa 

Conn 

Miss. 

Me. 

N H. 

Cal. 

N.Y. 

Wis. 

Minn. 

Ky- 
III. 

Kan. 

Fla. 

N.J. 

Del. 

S.D. 

N.M. 

Ariz. 

N.D. 

Colo. 

Nev. 

R I 

Wyo. 

Wash. 

Neb. 

Iowa 

Idaho 

W.Va. 

Mont. 

Vt. 

Ore. 




INDEBTEDNESS OF STATES IN 1890 

The figures of the scale represent 
millions of dollars 



GOVERNMENT 



39 



Virginia 

Louisiana 

Arizona 

Tennessee 

Nevada 

Alabama 

Maryland 

Arkansas 

NewHampshire 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

New Mexico 

Delaware 

Wyoming 

Maine 

Connecticut 

North Carolina 

Missouri 

Indiana 

North Dakota 

Massachusetts 

Mississippi 

South Dakota 

Florida 

Idaho 

Michigan 

California 

Ohio 

Texas 

Minnesota 

Colorado 

Wisconsin 

Montana 

Rhodelsland 

Kentucky 

Washington 

Kansas 

Pennsylvania 

New Jersey 

Vermont 

New York 

Illinois 

Nebraska 

WestVirginia 

Iowa 

Oregon 



<° 1,2 14 16 13 




STATE DEBT PER CAPITA IN 1890 

The figures of the scale represent dollars 



40 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



BUDGET 



The income of the general government is derived almost 
entirely from two forms of taxation — customs duties on imported 
articles, and internal revenue from the taxation of spirits and 
tobacco. The receipts of the government for the year 1890 were 
$362,600,000, or $6.14 per capita of the population, of which 
$219,500,000 was derived from customs duties, $145,700,000 
from internal revenue, and $4,000,000 from sales of public lands. 
The expenditures for that year amounted to $355,400,000, or 
$5.55 per capita of the pojiulation, distributed as follows: 

PRINCIPAL ITEMS OP EXPENDITUKP] 

Maintenance of the army $48,700,000 

Maintenance of the navy ■ 26, 100,000 

Support of Indian tribes 8,500,000 

Pensions 124,400,000 

Interest on the public debt 37,500,000 

Miscellaneous, including civil expenses 110,000,000 



It is popularly supposed that the cost of maintenance of the 
general government, in proportion to population, has steadily 
and gradually increased in recent years. This is not the case, 
as is shown by the following table, which gives the receipts and 
expenditures per capita for the past twenty years : 



RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES PER CAPITA, 1873 TO 1891 





Receipts per 


Payments per 




Receipts per 


Payments per 




Capitii 


Capita 




Capita 


Capita 


1872 


$9.22 


$6.84 


1882 


$7.64 


$4.89 


1873 


8.01 


6.97 


1883 


7.37 


4.90 


1874 


7.13 


7.07 


1884 


6.27 


4.39 


1875 


6.55 


6.25 


1885 


5.67 


4.56 


1876 


6.52 


5.87 


1886 


5.76 


4.15 


1877 


6.07 


5.21 


1887 


6.20 


4.47 


1878 


5.41 


4.98 


1888 


6.33 


4.33 


1879 


5.60 


5.46 


1889 


6.01 


4.38 


1880 


6.65 


5 34 


1890 


6.44 


4.75 


1881 


7.01 


5.07 


1891 


6.14 


5.55 



GO VERNMENT 



41 



From the foregoing table it appears that daring the last ten 
years, from 1882 to 1892, neither tiie receipts nor the expenditures 
have been as great per capita as in the ten years between 1872 
and 1882, and furthermore, that this reduction is not due alone 
to the reduction in the interest on the public debt, as that has 
been fully offset by the increase in the pensions. 

MILITARY FORCES 



The Reg:ulaT Army. — Situated as we are, with a broad 
ocean upon either side separating our country from any nation 
which could for a moment pretend to cope with us, we have 
little need of a standing army. Occasionally there is an Indian 
outbreak in the far west, and its services are required to quell 
the trouble and protect the settlers. Occasionally, too, a labor 
strike develops into a mob, and troops are called on to uphold the 
arm of the law ; but these are petty matters, and order is 
usually restored by the aid of one or two thousand men. 

The regular army is limited by law to 25,000 non-commis- 
sioned officers and privates. It contains in addition 2,169 
officers, the number being considerably in excess of that required 
for commanding the troops, so as to admit of easy and rapid 
expansion should occasion arise. The following table shows 
the classification and disposition of tlie troops: 

CLASSIFICATION OF TUB REGULAR ARMY 



General staff 

Ordnance corps 

Engineer corps 

10 regiments of cavalry. 
5 regiments of artillery. 
25 regiments of infantry 
Indian scouts, etc 



Commissioned 


Non 


commissioned 


Officers 


Officers and Privates 


400 






58 




450 


113 




500 


432 




6,050 


289 




3,675 


877 




12,125 
2,200 



25,000 



Org'aiiized Militia. — In addition to the regular army, 
most of the states maintain a militia force, as an aid to the civil 



42 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



authorities in case of need. This militia is under the direct 
authority of the governor of the state, and can be called out at 
his discretion. 

The following table shows the strength of the organized militia 
of the several states: 

DISTRIBUTIOX OP ORGANIZED STATE MILITTA 



Alabama 2, 76fi 

Arizona 288 

Arkansas 2,322 

California 4.227 

Colorado 781 

Connecticut. ... 3,089 

Delaware ... 606 

District of Columbia 984 

Florida 1.C03 

Georgia 3,0G7 

Idaho ■ 313 

Illinois 3,651 

Indiana 1,972 

Iowa 2.558 

Kansas 3, 143 

Kentucky 1,120 

Louisiana. ... 1,653 

Maine 987 

Maryland 1,934 

Massachusetts 5,365 

Michigan 2,341 

Minnesota 1,803 

Mississippi 2,828 

Missouri 1.579 



Montana 616 

Nebraska 1,956 

Nevada 533 

New Hampshire 1,000 

New Jersey 3,377 

New Mexico 752 

New York 13,063 

North Carolina 1,982 

North Dakota 431 

Ohio 4.706 

Oregon 1,243 

Pennsylvania 8,120 

Rhode Island 1,875 

South Carolina 4,906 

South Dakota 421 

Tennessee 1,607 

Texas 3,162 

Vermont 711 

Virginia 2,746 

Washington 1,015 

West Virginia 872 

Wisconsin 2.238 

Wyoming ... 298 



The total organized militia numbers 104,477, of which 9,099 
are commissioned officers, and 95,378 non-commissioned officers 
and privates. The forces are classified as follows: 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE MILITIA 

Infantry 86,570 

Cavalry 4,574 

Artillery 4.234 

Potential Militia. — The potential militia includes all 
males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. In 
1890 this class numbered 13,230,168, of which it is estimated 
that two-thirds might be made available in the event of war; in 
1880 it numbered 10,231,239, showing an increase of 29.31 per 
cent., which is much larger than that of the total population. 



GOVERNMENT 



43 



This is due to the excessive immigration of the preceding 
decade, as is proven by the fact that the increase in the native 
born militia from 1880 to 1890 is approximately equal to the 
increase among the native born of the total population — viz., 
26.04 per cent. — while the increase of the foreign born militia is 
not less than 48.10 per cent. 

The native born militia number 10,424,086, or 78.79 per cent. 
of the whole number, and the foreign born 2,806,082, or 21.21 
per cent. This may be contrasted with similar elements of the 
total population, of which 85.23 per cent, were native born, 
and 14.77 were foreign born. 

Of the total potential militia, 68.01 per cent, or more than 
two-thirds, were native whites, while 73.03 per cent, of the total 
population were native whites. Of the militia, 10.78 per cent, 
were colored, and of the total population 12.20 per cent, were 
colored. 

Of the total militia a little more than one-half — namely, 51.20 
per cent. — were whites of native extraction (that is, native whites 
of native parentage), while 48.80 were foreign born, native born 
of foreign parentage, or colored. 

The following table shows the proportion of the potential 
militia in each of the five divisions of the countrv, in 1890, 
contrasted with similar proportions of the total population : 

PROPORTIONS OP POTENTIAL MILITIA AND POPULATION 





Militia 


Population 


North Atlantic Division , 


28.71 
12.23 
36.55 
15.58 
6.93 


27.79 


South Atlantic Division 


14.14 


North Central Division 


35 71 


South Central Division 


17.52 


Western Division 


4.84 







Thus it will be seen that in the northern and western states 
the proportion of potential militia is greater than that of the 
population, showing a preponderance of the mature male ele- 
ment; while in the southern states the proportion of militia is 
less than that of the population, showing the reverse. 



44 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



THE NAVY 

Next to that of its industrial achievements, the naval history 
of the United States has been its most brilliant record. From 
the time of John Paul Jones to the civil war, the navy has 
played more than its part in our difficulties. 

The outbreak of the civil war found the navy in a neglected 
condition. We had few war-ships, and fewer still in condition 
for service. But with marvelous rapidity we built a navy, 
and at the close of the war we ranked among the first of the 
powers of the world upon the sea. More than that, by our bold- 
ness of invention we revolutionized the building and fighting 
of war-ships. 

The war being over, the navy was rapidly reduced, until 
eight years ago little was left of our magnificent fleet, and that 
little had been distanced in the march of progi-ess. We were left 
practically defenseless against a naval power. Then we com- 
menced to restore the navy by the construction of new and 
modern types of vessels, and will soon have ample protection for 
our seaports, and strength to spare for offensive operations. 

Of armored and protected vessels, w^e have now twenty-two 
completed and sixteen in process of building, including a num- 
ber of monitors which are undergoing reconstruction. The 
displacement of these ships ranges from 1,875 to 10,231 tons, 
and their horse-power from 840 to 21,000. Their speed ranges 
from 6 to 21 knots per hour. 

Of unarmored vessels, twenty-five have been built and six 
are under construction. Their displacements range from 420 to 
4,413 tons, and their speed from 8 to 23 knots. Besides these, a 
number of torpedo boats and dynamite cruisers have been con- 
structed, and there are stdl several sailing vessels in commission. 

The present naval force consists of 726 officers, 8,250 enlisted 
men and boys, and a marine corps of 2,177 officers and men. 
Here again, as in the case of the regular army, is seen a great 
disproportion of officers, to admit of rapid and efficient expan- 
sion of the force in case of war. 



GOVERNMENT 45 



PENSIONS 

rt has remained for the United States to prove the fallacy of 
the claim that " republics are ungrateful." Certainly in its 
treatment of the veterans of the late civil war the government 
has proved itself the most generous on which the sun ever 
shone. 

Since the close of the war the pension laws have been 
amended many times, each amendment making them more 
and more liberal. Money has been poured out like water upon 
the country's defenders. More money is paid out annually 
to its pensioners than is expended by many of the great 
nations of Europe upon their armaments. Regarded purely as 
an investment, without considering its sentimental aspect, this 
money has been wisely spent; although, perhaps, the time is 
approaching when it will become necessary to call a halt. 
Surely a nation which has provided so munificently for its 
defenders in the past, cannot fail of defenders sliould necessity 
arise in the future. 

The money expended thus far for pensions since 1861, is 
fSl, 418,000,000. This vast sum would far more than pay off 
the balance of the national debt. In the year 1892 alone, 
$141,000,000 was thus disbursed. The number of invalid pen- 
sioners upon the rolls was 536,821, and the number of widows 
and orphans was 139,339. The total number of pensioners was 
876,068. 

PUBLIC LANDS 

When the United States had shaken off the yoke of the mother 
countr3^ the territory of which it found itself possessed was 
limited on the west by the Mississippi River, and on the south 
by the thirty-first parallel of latitude, practically the northern 
boundary of Florida ; the limits on the nortli and east being 
about the same as at present. The area contained within these 
limits is estimated at 827,844 square miles. Besides the thirteen 



46 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

original states, this area comprised a large tract known as the 
Northwest territory, over which the claims of several of the states 
extended, these claims overlapping one another in the most 
perplexing manner. 

State Cessions. — As a simple method of settling these 
complicated claims, the states transferred their interests in this 
territory to the general government, and thus the government 
became a large land-owner. The territory so ceded now consti- 
tutes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, 
and the eastern part of Minnesota. Again, in the south the 
state of Georgia laid claim to the present area of Alabama and 
Mississippi, which it also ceded to the general government, in 
consideration of $6,200,000. At that time nearly all of it was 
an uninhabited wilderness, only a trifling part being owned by 
individuals. 

The states of Kentucky and Tennessee were constituted 
respectively from parts of Virginia and North Carolina, and 
none of their lands ever belonged to the general government. 

Annexation of Territory. — At various times additions 
have been made to the territory of the United States by treaty 
and purchase. These are set forth in the following table, and 
are represented on the map, Plate 3. 

COST AND AREA OP ACQUIRED TERRITORY 

Date Area Cost 

1803 Louisiana purchase 1,171,931 square miles. $12,000,000 

1831 Florida purchase 59,268 " " 5,000,000 

1845 Annexation of Texas 375,239 " " 

1848 Mexican cession 545,783 " " 15,000,000 

1853 Gadsden purchase 45,535 " " 10,000.000 

1867 Purchase of Alaska 570,000 " " 7,200,000 

In the statement of area of the Louisiana purchase is included 
the area of Oregon territory, comprising the present states of 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. This region was acquired, 
however, not as a part of the Louisiana purchase, which ex- 
tended only to the summit of the Rocky mountains in Montana ; 
but as a direct and almost immediate result of it by occupation 
and settlement. 



GOVERNMENT 47 

All the above additions to our territory increased the public 
lands owned by the general government, excepting in the case of 
Texas. That state, which had achieved its independence of 
Mexico, voluntarily joined the sisterhood of states and retained 
control of its public lands, with the exception of certain areas 
in the north and west which it sold to the United States for the 
sum of $16,000,000; these now form parts of New Mexico, Col- 
orado, and Kansas. 

Within the areas thus added to the country were, taken col- 
lectively, considerable bodies of land owned by private parties, 
including grants which had been made by the Mexican or Span- 
ish government to individuals. All lands thus held in fee simple 
were of course retained under such ownership, but the balance 
of the territory, forming vastly the greater proportion of it, 
became the property of the government. 

The rules to be observed by the government in the disposal 
of its empire, early commanded the attention of legislators. A 
liberal and enlightened policy was soon developed ; though 
accompanied perhaps by certain abuses, it has proved, on the 
whole, a most beneficial one for the people of the country. 

Method of Survey. — The land was first cut up into parcels 
convenient for sale or other form of disposal, and the plan 
adopted early in the present century has been pursued up to the 
present time with but slight changes. It consists essentially in 
a subdivision of the land into tracts six miles on a side, known 
as townships ; the subdivision of each of these townships into 
sections, each approximately one nule on a side; and the further 
subdivision of these sections into quarter sections, or even smaller 
fractions. The north and south lines of the townships are theo- 
retically true meridians, and hence, while six miles apart at the 
jjoints of beginning, they converge northward. At a distance of 
twenty-four or thirty-six miles a fresh start is made, and these 
lines are again set at intervals of six miles; the line along which 
this fresh start is made is known as a correction line. The 
section lines are set one mile apart on the south line of each 
township, and the shortage in the breadth of the township is 
thrown entirely into the western tier of sections. 

These surveys have been initiated at various points in the 



48 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

country, independently of one another, the first step being to 
select an initial point and to run through that point a north and 
south line known as a principal meridian, and an east and west 
line known as a base line. The townships are numbered north 
or south from tlie base line to which they appertain; and the 
ranges, as the north and south tiers of townships are called, are 
numbered east or west from the principal meridian. 

To a resident of any of the Land Office states, i. e., those states 
in whicli there is or has been public land, these methods of de- 
scription are as familiar as the alphabet ; and the statement that 
one owns the northwest quarter of section 23, in township 10 
north, range 15 west of the sixth principal meridian, defines that 
square half mile with precision and much more clearly than 
a statement of the latitude and longitude of the place would 
convey. 

In this way the government has subdivided nearly all of its 
possessions. 

Out of a total area of public lands, excluding Alaska, of 
1,440,000,000 acres, there remained uusurveyed in 1890, 460,- 
000,000 acres. This consisted, with the exception of certain 
Indian reservations, of tracts of desert and mountain land, 
which under present conditions of climate and altitude are 
practically uninhabitable. 

Methods of Disposal. — The idea of disposing of the 
public land for the purpose of making pecuniary profit, was 
early abandoned ; instead thereof the purpose of all legisla- 
tion, excepting perhaps the earliest, has been to use the public 
land as a means of inducing the spread of settlement and the 
development of the country. 

In legislation concerning the disposal of land to private in- 
dividuals, whatever the terms, one provision has always existed, 
to wit, that title should pass from the government to actual 
settlers. This provision forms the characteristic feature of the 
various preemption, homestead, timber claim, and desert land 
acts. Under the preemption acts, a man was permitted to 
settle upon the public land, laying claim to a quarter section, 
and after keeping it a certain length of time he obtained a 
patent for it, upon the payment of $1.25 per acre. 



GOVERNMENT 49 

For many years this was the only general law under which 
title to the public lands could be secured by individuals. Later 
a homestead law was enacted ; under its provisions an actual 
settler, after occupying a quarter section for a certain term of 
years, obtained a patent therefor at no further expense than 
the fees of the Land Office. Moreover, the fact that he had 
homesteaded a claim did not prevent him from taking up an 
adjoining claim, so that under the laws a hondfide settler could 
thus obtain two quarter sections by paying for one of them. 

Still later, when the desirability of tree-planting upon the 
plains and deserts became apparent, what is known as the 
Timber Culture Act was passed, which enabled a settler to ob- 
tain a third quarter section, upon furnishing proof that he had 
planted and maintained for a certain term of years upon this 
quarter section a certain number of trees. 

In recent years another act, known as the Desert Land Act, 
has still farther increased the ability of the settler to avail him- 
self of the public land. This act, which is intended to apply 
only to those regions in which the rainfall is insufficient for 
farming, provides in effect that any settler may take up a full 
section, 640 acres, of desert land, provided he conducts water to 
it and puts it under irrigation. 

Amount Alienated. — The total area of the public land 
in all the states and territories, excluding Alaska, was approxi- 
mately 1,440,000,000 acres. Of this area the United States had, 
up to June 30, 1892, alienated by means of grants, patents, etc., 
873,000,000 acres; leaving 567,000,000 acres, or much less than 
one-half. Of the area thus alienated, the principal items are: 

DISPOSITION MADE OP PUBLIC LANDS 

Homesteads i;:50,000,000 acres. 

Cash sales 224,000.000 " 

Railway land grants patented 79,000,000 " 

Swamp lands to States 70,000,000 " 

Land bounties for military services 61,000,000 " 

Of the remainder still left in the hands of the government, 
estimated at 567,000,000 acres, a large part, say 100,000,000 
acres, consists of Indian reservations. Another large part, esti- 
4 



50 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

mated at 103,000,000 acres, has been granted to railroads, but 
has not jet been patented to them ; while yet another consider- 
able area, impossible to estimate, has been filed upon as home- 
stead, preemption, or timber culture claims, the titles for which 
have not vet passed. 

With trifling exceptions the public lands that are desir- 
able to tbe agriculturist have now passed from the possession 
of the government into private hands. Those which remain are 
mountainous or arid lands, not suitable under present conditions 
for the support of population. The wave of westward migra- 
tion will ere long cease for want of a motive, and perhaps a 
reflex wave may be substituted, and abandoned farms in the east 
again be occupied. 



POPULATION 



Early Settlemeuts. — Original settlements within our 
territory were effected mainly under charters granted by the 
English government. Many charters were given which were 
without effect so far as settlement was concerned, and these it is 
unnecessary to mention. Again, some settlements were made 
by Europeans other than English, in defiance of the English 
claims to the territory, but these were afterward conquered and 
annexed. 

The first permanent settlement made upon our soil was at 
Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, under a charter of James I., of Eng- 
land, granting to one of the so-called Virginia companies a strip 
of land, extending along the sea-coast from the 34th to the 41st 
parallel of latitude. At the same time a charter was given to a 
second company, of a strip extending along the sea-coast from 
the 38th to the 45th parallel ; but under this charter no attempt 
at colonization was made. The company possessing this char- 
ter was reorganized in 1620, under the name of the Plymouth 
Company, and obtained a new charter granting to it the land 
between the 40tli and 48th parallels, and extending from the 
Atlantic to the South Sea, as the Pacific Ocean was then called. 

Under this charter the Plymouth colony was started in 1620, 
and under a sub-grant from the Plymouth Company, the Massa- 
chusetts colony was established, the first settlers coming over in 
1628. From these colonies, by the aid of sub-grants of territory, 
settlements were effected in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut ; besides being extended over the sea- 
board of Massachusetts, and far into the interior of the State, 
Later, changes were made in the charters of all these New Eng- 
land colonies, bringing each of them directly under the crown of 
England. 



62 



THE BUILD IN a OF A NATION 



New York was first colonized bj the Dutch, who settled upon 
Manhattan island in 1623-24, under a claim based on a right of 
discovery by Hendrick Hudson. The settlements thus begun 
grew rapidly, and remained in the hands of the Dutch until 
1664, when they were taken hy the English. They were recap- 
tured by the Dutch in 1673, but in 1674 were restored to the 
English by treaty. Settlements in New Jersey were made at 
Elizabeth in 1664, but prior to that the Dutch had spread 
slightly from Manhattan island into that state. 

The settlement of Pennsylvania commenced in 1681, under a 
charter granted in that year to William Penn, whose enlight- 
ened policy toward the Indians saved his people from many of 
the ills suffered by other colonies, and this one grew with great 
rapidity from the stai't. The settlement of Maryland was com- 
menced by a colony planted at St. Mary in 1634, under a charter 
issued two years previously to Lord Baltimore. The permanent 
settlement of the Carolinas was begun by extension from Vir- 
ginia. In 1664 colonists from Barbadoes settled at Clarendon, 
on the Cape Fear river, and six years after a colony was formed 
on the Ashley river. The settlement of Georgia commenced 
much later ; the first colony was started by Oglethorpe at Savan- 
nah in 1733, under a charter granted by the crown the previous 
year, and spread slowly up the Savannah river and to the neigh- 
boring islands on the coast- 
Statistics concerning the growth of the colonies prior to the 
first census in 1790, are wanting. Our only knowledge as to 
the population is derived from estimates, and the best are those 
given by Bancroft, which are sunnnarized in the following table: 



ESTIMATED POPULATION PRIOR TO 1790 



Tear 


Wliite 


Black 


Total 


1688 


200,000 
1,040,000 
1.165.000 
1.385.000 
1,850.000 
2,383,000 


220.000 
260.000 
310,000 
462.000 
562,000 


200,000 


1750 

1754 

1760 

1770 

1780 


1,260.000 
1,425.000 
1.695,000 
2,312,000 
2,945,000 



POPULATION- 



53 



Thus, at the outbreak of the Revolution the population of the 
colonies was probably not far from 2,500,000, of which it is 
estimated that 2,00(.»,000 were whites and 500,000 blacks. 

Increase of Population. — The first census of the United 
States was taken in 1790. From that time to the present a cen- 
sus has been taken every ten years. For a century, therefore, 
we have a trustworthy record of our numbers. Starting a hun- 
dred years ago with 3,929,214 inhabitants, we have advanced 
with such tremendous strides that 62,622,250 was the constitu- 
tional ])opulation of the country, June 1, 1890, as returned bv 
the last census. This did not include the inhabitants of Alaska 
or the Indian territory, nor did it embrace Indians still remain- 
ing in tribal relations or living upon reservations. Including 
all these classes, the number of human beings within the limits 
of the country, was about 63,000,000. 

POPULATION AND RATE OP INCREASE BY DECADES 



Census Years 


Population 


Per cent, of Increase 


1790 


3,929.214 

5,308,483 
7,239,881 
9,633,822 
12,800,020 
17,009,453 
23,191,870 
31,443,321 
88,558,371 
50.155,783 
62,622,250 




1800 


35 10 


1810 


36 38 


1820 

1830 


33.07 
33 55 


1840 


32 67 


1850 


35 87 


1860 


35 58 


1870 


22 63 


1880 


30 08 


1890 


24 86 







The above table shows the constitutional population as 
returned at each census during the past century, with the per- 
centage of increase during each decennial period. Although 
the pofjulation as returned by the census of 1S70 is known to 
have been incorrect to a considerable extent, it is here given as 
returned; and the rates of increase between 1860 and 1870, and 
between 1870 and 1880, since they were computed from it, are 
also necessarily incorrect, being too small in the fonner case, and 
too large in the latter. 



54 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



It will be seen that the rate of increase in the early decades, 
when it was dependent almost entirely upon natural causes, ran 
from 32 to 36 per cent., generally diminishing as the population 
increased. Between 1840 and 1850 the natural increase was 
reinforced by a heavy immigration, and accordingly the rate 
advanced decidedly at that time ; since then it has diminished 
rapidly, as the full effect of immigration in reducing natural 
increase has become felt. In the first twenty-five years the 
population doubled ; in the second twenty-five years it doubled 
again, the population in 1840 being four times that in 1790. 
But in recent years the rate of increase lias diminished. Instead 
of doubling in the last quarter of a century, as it did in the 
first twenty-five years of our history, it has required thirty 
years, the population in 1890 being almost exactly double that 
in 1860. 



MILLIONS OF INHABITANTS 

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 30 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 



CHINA 

INDIA.... , 

RUSSIA , 

UNITED STATES.... 

GERMANY. 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

JAPAN 

FRANCE 

UNITED KINGDOM. 

ITALY 

PRUSSIA 

TURKEY 

SPAIN 

BRAZIL 

MEXICO 

COREA 

BELGIUM 

BAVARIA.... 

SWEDEN 

PORTUGAL 

NETHERLANDS.... 

COLOMBIA 

SAXONY 

SWITZERLAND 

CHILE 

PERU. 

VENEZUELA. 

GREECE 

DENMARK 

WURTEMBERG 

NORWAY 

BADEN 

GUATEMALA 

ECUADOR ---- 

BOLIVIA 

URUGUAY 

SALVADOR 

HONDURAS 

PARAGUAY 

NICARAGUA-. 

COSTA RICA 



\ 
POPULATION OF COUNTRIES OF THE GLOBE IN 1890 



POPULATION 



55 



These rates of increase are extremely large as compared with 
those of European nations; many times larger than the rate of 
France, several times larger than that of Great Britain, and 
greatly in excess of that of Germany, Indeed, in rapidity of 
growth, no other civilized nation has ever approached this coun- 
try. While the United States has doubled its population in the 
last thirty years. France during the same period has increased 
but 3 per cent.. Great Britain and Ireland but 29 per cent,, and 
Prussia but 62 per cent. Since 1797 Prussia has increased in 
population from 8,700,000 to 30,000,000, while the population of 
this country has increased from 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 to 62,- 
622,250; nor is this tremendous advance due in any great degree 
to immigration, since in all probability, as is shown later, the ear- 
lier rates of increase would iiave been nearly maintained by the 
excess of births over deaths had there been no immigration. 



TOTAL POPULATION BY STATES IN 1890 



States and Tekeitobies 



The United States . . 

North Atlantic Division. 

Maine 

New Hampshire. . . . 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 



South Atlantic Division. . . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

District of Columl)ia. . 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 



North Central Division 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 



Population 



02.622,250! 



17,401.545 

,080 
,580| 
,422 
1943 
,506 
.58! 
,853! 
,983 
,014! 



661, 
376, 
332, 
,288, 
345, 
746, 
,991 
,444, 
,258, 



8,857,920: 



3,672,316 
2,192,404 
3,826.351 
2,093,889 
Wisconsin ', 1,686,880 



168,493 
1,042,390 

230,392 
1,655,980 

762,794 
1,617,947 
1,151,149 
1,837,353 

391,422 

22.362,279 



States and Territories 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 

Kansas 

South Central Division. . 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Alabama 

Mississippi ........ 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Oklahoma 

Arkansas 

Western Division 

Montana 

Wyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 

California 



Population 



1,301,826 
1,911,896 
2,679,184 
182,719 
328,808 
1,058,910 
1,427,096 



10,972. 



1,858, 
1,767. 
1,513, 
1,289, 
1,118, 
2,235, 
61, 
1,128, 



893 
635 

518 
017 
600 
587 
523 
834 
179 



3,027,613 



132, 
60, 

412, 

153, 
59, 

207, 
45, 
84, 

349. 

313, 
1,208, 



159 
705 
198 
593 
620 
905 
761 
335 
390 
767 
130 



o6 



THE BUILDIXG OF A NATION 



Population of States.— The preceding table shows the 
total population of each state, and of each group of states, in 
1S90. arranged in geographical order: and tlie following diagram 
presents the same facts, the states being arranged in the order 
of their population, with the smallest at the top. 



HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS 




NEVADA 

ARIZONA 

OKLAHOMA... 
WYOMING.... 

IDAHO 

MONTANA 

NEW MEXICO 

DELAWARE... 

NORTH DAKOTA 

UTAH.... 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

OREGON 

SOUTH DAKOTA 
VERMONT 
RHODE ISLAND 
WASHINGTON 
NEW HAMPSHIRE 

FLORIDA 

COLORADO... 

MAINE 

CONNECflCuf 

WEST VIRGINIA 

MARYLAND 

NEBRASKA 

LOUISIANA 

ARKANSAS 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

CALIFORNIA 

MISSISSIPPI 

MINNESOTA 

KANSAS 

NEW JERSEY 

ALABAMA 

NORTH CAROLINA 

VIRGINIA 

WISCONSIN 

TENNESSEE 

GEORGIA 

KENTUCKY 

IOWA 

MICHIGAN_ 

INDIANA 

MASSACHUSETTS 

TEXAS 

MISSOURI 

OHIO 

ILLINOIS 

PENNSYLVANIA 

NEW YORK 



POPULATION OF EACH STATE AND TERRITORY IN 1890 



Kate of Increase of Popnlation of States.— The 
next table shows the percentage of increase of each state, and 
each group of states, during each ten year period, from the time 
of the formation of the state. 



POPULATION 57 

PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE OP POPULATION, BY DECADES 



States and 
Territories 


1880 
to 
1890 


1870 
to 
1880 


1860 
to 
1870 


1850 
to 
1860 


1840 
to 
1850 


1830 
to 
1840 


1820 
to 
1830 


1810 
to 
1820 


1800 
to 
1810 


1790 
to 
1800 


The United States . . . 


34.86 


30.08 


32.63 


35.58 


35.87 


32.67 


33.55 


33 07 


36.38 


35.10 


North Atlantic Division 


19.95 


17.96 


16.09 


22.81 


27.60 


21.99 


27.22 


24.95 


32.29 


33.92 




1.87 
8.51 
0.04 
25.57 
24.94 
19.84 
18.00 
27.74 
22.77 

16.59 

14.93 
11.49 
29.71 
9.48 
23.34 
15.59 
15.63 
19.14 
45.24 

28.78 


3.51 
9.01 
0.52 
22.35 
27.23 
15.86 
15.97 
24.83 
21.61 

29.79 


«0.22 
a2.38 
4.90 
18.38 
24.47 
16.80 
12.94 
34.83 
21.19 

9.11 


7.74 
2.55 
0.31 
23.79 
18.35 
24.10 
25.29 
37.27 
25.71 

14.65 


16.22 
11.74 
7.59 
34.81 
35.57 
19.62 
27.52 
31.14 
34.09 

19.20 


25.62 

5.66 

4.02 

20.85 

11.97 

4.13 

20.60 

16.. 36 

27.87 

7.67 


a3.92 
10.37 
18.94 
16.68 
17.09 
8.19 
39.83 
15.64 
28.71 

19.11 


30.42 

13.78 

8.29 

10.83 

7.91 

5.04 

43.07 

12.98 

29.31 

14.43 


50.74 
16. (J4 
41.06 
11.63 
11.30 
4.. 36 
62.81 
16.30 
34.49 

16.99 


57 16 


New Hampshire 

Vermont 


29.58 

80 82 


Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 


11.63 
0.43 
5 49 




73 19 




14 67 


Pennsylvania 

South Atlantic Division 


38.67 
23.47 




17.27 
19.73 
34.87 
23.46 
39.92 
30.65 
41.10 
30.24 
43.54 

33.76 


11.41 
13.66 
75.41 
4.44 


22.60 
17.84 
45.26 
12.29 


17.22 
24.04 
18.24 
14.67 


1.74 
5.14 
9.74 
2.34 


5.. 50 

9.74 

20.. 57 

13.73 


0.10 
7.04 
37.53 
9.29 


13.07 
11.42 
70.46 
10.72 


8 76 


Maryland 


82 


District of Columbia. 
Virginia 


17'74 


West Virginia 




North Carolina 

South Carolina 


7.93 

0.27 

12.00 

33.70 

42.70 


14.22 

5.27 

16.67 

60.59 

68.35 


15.35 

12.47 
31.07 
60.52 

61.23 


2.09 

2.27' 

33.78 

56.86 

108.11 


15.. 52 
15.60 
51.57 


15.00 
21.11 

35.08 


16.19 
20.12 
55.17 


21.43 
38.75 
97 08 


Florida 




North Central Division. 


87.49 


192.99 


474.77 




Ohio 


14.83 
10.82 
24.32 
27.92 
28.23 
66.74 
17.68 
23.56 

]• 278.41 

134.06 
43.27 

23.02 


19.99 
17.71 
21.18 
.38.25 
24.73 
77.. 57 
36.06 
25.93 

853.23 

267.83 
173.35 

38.62 


13.92 
24.45 
48.36 
58.06 
35.93 
155.61 
76.91 
45.62 

193.18 

326.45 
2.39.91 

11.54 


18.14 

36.63 
101.06 

88.38 

I'M. 06 

2,730.72 

251.13 

73.30 


30.33 

44.11 

78.81 

87.34 

886.88 


62.01 
99.94 
202.44 
570.90 


61.35 
133.07 
185.42 
260.97 


151.90 
.500.24 
349 13 


408.67 
3;B4.67 




Illinois 




Michigan 


84.06 






Wisconsin 






Minnesota 












Iowa 


345.85 
77.75 












Missouri 


173.19 


111.03 


219.29 






North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 




















Kansas 
















South Central Division. 


34.05 


42.24 


46.72 


51.91 


72.89 


134.09 


206.68 




12.73 
14.60 
19.84 
13.96 
19.01 
40.44 


24.81 
22.55 
26.63 
36.68 
29.. 31 
94.45 


14.31 
13.40 
3.40 
4.63 

2.67 
35.48 


17.64 
10.68 
24.96 
30.47 
36.74 
184.21 


25.98 
20.92 
30.62 
61.46 
46.92 


13.36 
21.60 
90.86 
174.96 
63.. 35 


21.94 
61.29 
142.01 

81.08 
41.08 


38.77 
61.53 


83.98 
147.84 


199.90 
195.88 




Alabama 


Mississippi 


86.97 
99.75 


355.95 




Louisiana 




Texas 






Oklahoma 














Arkansas 


40.58 
71.27 


65.65 
78.46 


11.26 
60.02 


107.46 
246.15 


115.12 


221.09 


113.17 








Western Division 


















Montana 


237.49 
192.01 


90.14 
128.00 


















Wyoming 








:::::: :::::: 








Colorado 


112.12 3sr 47 


16.30 
















New Mexico 


2s.4r, 

47.43 

44.42 

*26..51 

158.77 

365.13 

70.. 53 

39.72 


30.14 
318.72 
65.88 
46. .54 
117.41 
213.57 
92.22 
54. :w 


*1.76 


51.94 














Arizona 
















Utah 


115.49 
519.67 

106 ! 62 
73.30 
47.44 


25.3.89 














Nevada 
















Idaho 

Washington 
















Oregon 


294.65 














California 


310.37 





























* Decrease. 



58 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

The thirteen original states, which comprise practically the 
North Atlantic and South Atlantic divisions, were at the time 
of the first census, in 1790, to a large extent settled communities, 
and their rates of increase in the early decades were in no case 
very great, while in certain cases they were very small indeed. 

From the beginning of the century these states have been the 
source of supply of a great westward migration. Their chil- 
dren have peopled the Mississippi valley, the lake region, and 
the vast territory farther west. Indeed, for nearly a century 
these eastern states have been the hive from which millions 
have swarmed westward to subdue the plains and deserts. 

In the North Atlantic states these enormous drafts have been 
largely made good in numbers, especially during the past forty 
years, by foreign immigration, which has to a great extent re- 
placed the original stock. This is not the case, however, with 
the South Atlantic states, which thus far have received no 
foreign immigration, owing partly to climatic conditions and 
partly to the presence of the colored race, with which the foreign 
element either cannot or will not compete. In the Central and 
Western states the rate of increase, which in the first stage of 
settlement was excessively large, has diminished greatly as the 
population has become denser. 

Considerations Affecting Increase.— It is a well- 
recognized general law governing the matter, that unless dis- 
turbed by extraneous causes, such as wars, pestilence, immigra- 
tion, emigration, change of occupations, and so on, increase of 
population goes on at a constantly diminishing rate. The opera- 
tion of this law in the United States has been disturbed in recent 
years by the civil war, which not only destroyed a vast number 
of lives, but decreased the birth rate materially during its 
progress. Again, the war was followed by an increased birth 
rate, as is invariably the case under like circumstances, and to 
an extent that it is impossible to estimate, since its effects are 
very complicated. 

Within the United States, too, there is an enormous move- 
ment of population, which is mainly conducted westward along 
parallels of latitude. This also interferes with the operation of 
the law of increase in individual states and sections of the coun- 



POPULATION 59 

try. Moreover, changes in occnpations and industries have 
affected in the past and are now affecting the rate of increase 
and the operation of this general law. 

Tn the settlement of a region, the ruling occupations of the 
people usually follow one another in a certain order, depending 
largely upon the density of settlement. Thus, after the pioneers, 
hunters, trappers, and prospectors, follow the graziers and cattle 
men, who support themselves from the products of large herds 
of cattle and sheep, and naturally require great areas of country 
for their support. As the population becomes less sparse and 
land for grazing purposes is no longer to be had, the farmer, who 
derives his living from smaller areas of land, gradually takes 
the place of the grazier. Under ordinary circumstances, the 
limit of density of a purely agricultural community is in tarn 
ultimately reached, and as that limit is approached, manufac- 
tures acquire more and more prominence ; and since this class of 
industries requires limited space and a close association of 
people, cities spring up and grow with the increase of manufac- 
turing. 

As a community passes from one to another of these stages, 
and especially as it passes from the agricultural to the manufac- 
turing stage, there is generally a considerable reduction in the 
rate of increase. Indeed, the growth of population in certain 
cases has for a time stopped entirely; to go on, however, at an 
increasing rate when the new class of industries had been estab- 
lished. Thus we find that southern New England, New York, 
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have passed the agricultural 
stage; their principal industries are now trade and manufactures, 
and they are growing at a rate much more rapid than a quarter 
of a century ago, when they were beginning to emerge from the 
agricultural stage. On the other hand, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
and Iowa have nearly reached the limit of agricultural settle- 
ment, and are now developing manufacturing industries ; but 
the latter have not yet reached a stage sufficiently advanced to 
induce a rapid increase of population. Thus the growth of a 
state consists in a series of waves representing the rate of 
increase of its population, the summit of each wave being coin- 
cident with the maximum development of a group of industries, 



60 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

and each depression between two waves marking the period of 
change fi'oin industry to industry. 

The northeastern states are primarily manufacturing centers, 
and as a necessary result of this preponderance of the manu- 
facturing element, there is a corresponding preponderance of 
urban population. Consequently, more than half the po|)ulation 
is grouped in cities. Agriculture is the primary industry of the 
Upper Mississippi valley and the Lake states, but in many of 
them manufactures are now acquiring prominence. The indus- 
tries of the southern states are almost entirely agricultural, 
while in the western states and territories the leading industries 
are grazing, agriculture, and mining. 

Keceiit Changes. — Maine and Vermont are practically at 
a standstill as regards increase of population ; New Hampshire 
has passed the lowest point of its rate of increase and is now 
making rapid, strides, owing to the stimulus of manufacturing 
industries. The other northeastern states are increasing rapidly, 
more so than for several decades. 

Among the southern states, comparison of the growth 
during the past decade with the growth of those immediately 
preceding, is practically impossible, because the omissions of 
the census of 1870 vitiate the results. As nearly as can be 
judged, these states are holding their own ; while certain of 
them, notably Florida, Texas, and Arkansas, are growing 
rapidly. 

Of the North Central states, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa show a 
decided reduction in the rate of increase, and this is true of 
Illinois also, if the city of Chicago be not considered. Michigan, 
in spite of its extensive frontier, has not advanced as rapidly as 
hitherto; while Wisconsin has added to its rate of increase, 
Missouri has nearly maintained its former rate, and Minnesota 
has not lost materially. 

The Plains states. North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and 
Kansas, have had a very rapid growth during the past decade, 
although the rate of increase as expressed in percentages has 
diminished. A succession of rainy seasons in the early part of 
the decade attracted hundreds of thousands of settlers to their 
fertile plains, and the states filled up rapidly, reaching their 



POPULATION 61 

maximum in 1887-88, when they had a population in excess of 
that given by the census of 1890, three years later. 

Then followed a series of dry seasons in which the rainfall 
was insufficient for the needs of crops, and the discouraged 
settlers retreated eastward in large numbers. The state cen- 
suses of Kansas taken in 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, showed 
an increase up to 1888, and from that time a diminution of over 
90,000. It is probable that there has been a similar movement 
in the Dakotas and Nebraska, since their state censuses, taken 
in 1885, gave a population very nearly as great as that returned 
by the census of 1890. 

The states and territories of the Western division skow rather 
violent oscillations in population, due to the discoveries and 
the exhaustion of mines in various parts of this region. Thus 
Montana has had a tremendous growth, owing primarily to the 
discovery of the mines at Butte, which have not only attracted 
a considerable population to that neighborhood, but have in- 
duced the building of railways and the settlement of agricul- 
tural regions. Wyoming also has grown with unusual rapidity, 
and this without the stimulus of mines, its increase being due 
to the opening up of rich agricultural regions in the northern 
part of the state, near the foot of the Bighorn mountains. 
The growth of Colorado in the last decade has been in its agri- 
cultural regions and in its cities, while the mining regions have 
suffered a positive decline ; the last census but one was taken 
on the top wave of a mining excitement occasioned by the Lead- 
ville discoveries. The growth in New Mexico, Arizona, and 
Utah has been comparatively slow; while Nevada, owing to the 
exhaustion of the Comstock and other mines, has suffered a loss 
of population during the decade amounting to more than one- 
third its numbers. 

Idaho has filled up rapidly, the increase being mainly in the 
northern part of the state, where rich agricultural lands, requir- 
ing little irrigation, have invited settlers. Washington has had 
an exceedingly rapid growth, due entirely to agricultural and 
commercial interests. The increase of settlement has been 
mainly in the eastern part and in the valley of Puget sound. 
Oregon also has filled up rapidly, the increase being mainly in 



62 



THE BCILDIXG OF A NATION 



the Willamette valley ; and, finally, California has maintained 
a steady rate of increase, its development of agricultural and 
commercial interests having much more than offset the losses 
from the exhanstion of its mines. 

Relative Standing- of States. — In 1790 Virginia was 
the most populous State in the Union, and it continued at the 
head of the list for three decades, when New York came to the 
front and has since remained first in population. In 1790, 
and also in 1800, Pennsylvania occupied the second position ; 
in 1810 this position was taken by New York, and in 1820 by 
Virginia. In 1830 Pennsylvania resumed the second position, 
and has held it continuously since that time. The third position 
was occupied in 1790 by North Carolina, in 1800 by New York, 
in 1810 and 1820 by Pennsylvania, and in 1S80 by Virginia: 
while between 18-±0 and 1880 it was held by Ohio. In 1890 
Illinois in her upward progress reached and secured third place. 

DENSITY OF POPULATION 

The following table gives the area of the country, and the 
average number of inhabitants to the square mile, at the date of 
each census : 

AREA AXD DENSITY OF POPULATIOX AT EACH CENSUS 



Census Years 


Area 


Density 


1790 


827.844 
827.844 
1.999.775 
1.999.775 
2.059,043 
3,059,043 
2,980.959 
3.025,000 
3,603.884 
3.603.884 
3,603.884 


4.75 


1800 


6.41 


1810 


3.62 


1820 


4.82 


1830 " 

1840 

1850 


6.25 

8.29 
7.78 


I860 


10.39 


1870 


10.70 


1880 


13.93 


1890 


17.37 







This table shows that in spite of successive acquisitions of 
territory, which have increased our domain from 827,844 to 



POPULATION 



63 



8,603,884 square miles, the density of population has increased 
within the century from 4.75 to 17.37 inhabitants per square 
mile. This increase is also strikingly shown in the annexed 
diagram • 



NUMBER OF INHABITANTS PER SQUARt MILt 



10 



12 



14 



1790.. 

1800_.. 
1810._. 
1820... 
1830... 
1840... 
1850... 
1860... 
1870... 
1880_. 
1 890_. 



16 



18 



DENSITY OF TOTAL POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS 

The diagram on page 64, showing the density of population of 
various countries in 1890, is inserted for purposes of comparison. 
It will be seen that the United States is a comparatively 
sparsely settled country, being exceeded in density of popula- 
tion by every country of Europe, excepting Eussia and Nor- 
way. 

Extent of Settlement. — In order to distinguish between 
settled and unsettled areas, it is necessary to adopt a certain 
arbitrary definition. Accordinglv we will regard as settled 
those areas having two or more inhabitants to a square mile, 
and, conversely, those areas having a smaller number of inhabi- 
tants will be regarded as unsettled. 

Under this definition, let us watch the spread of settlement as 
its advancing wave has swept across the continent. At the 
end of each decade opportunity is given to wi^tness the progress 
made. 



64 



THE BVILDINO OF A NATION 



50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 



SAXONY 

BELGIUM 

NETHERLANDS 

UNITED KINGDOlVI. 

CHINA 

BADEN 

JAPAN 

WURTEMBERG 

ITALY -. 

GERMANY 

INDIA 

PRUSSIA 

BAVARIA 

FRANCE , 

SWITZERLAND 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

DENMARK 

COREA 

PORTUGAL 

SALVADOR 

SPAIN 

GREECE 

GUATEMALA 

SWEDEN 

TURKEY 

UNITED STATES.... 

NORWAY 

MEXICO 

RUSSIA.... 

ECUADOR. 

COSTA RICA 

COLOMBIA 

CHILE 

HONDURAS 

URUGUAY 

NICARAGUA 

PERU 

BRAZIL 

VENEZUELA 

PARAGUAY 




NUMBER OF INHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE 
IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES IN 1890 



The maps on Plate 4 represent the status of settlement at the 
beginning and at the end of the centurv. The colored portions 
show tlie settled area of the country at each date, respectively. 

In 1790 settlement stretched continuously along the Atlantic 
coast from Maine to Georgia, and occupied the greater part of 
the Atlantic plain. At several points it reached feebly west- 
ward, up the Mohawk river in New York, and down the Appa- 
lachian valley in east Tennessee; while in northern Kentucky, 
in the neighborhood of Cincinnati, quite a body of settlement 
appeared, isolated from the rest. Each decade has seen the 
frontier line pushed westward, crossing the Appalachians, 
stretching gradually across the great valley of the Mississi{)pi, 
and climbing the plains beyond. 

With every succeeding census there were new isolated bodies 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 4 




THE SETTLED AREA IN 1790 




THE SETTLED AREA IN 1890 



POPULATION 65 

of settlement beyond the frontier, at points where the exceeding 
fertilit}' of the soil, facilities for Indian trading, or valuable 
mines, had atti'acted the pioneers. These centers have grown 
and spread until their margins have touched the main frontier 
line and they have become merged in the great body of popula- 
tion. In two or three cases settlements that grew up under 
foreign powers, have fallen under our jurisdiction by the acqui- 
sition of territory. Among these are the old French-Spanish 
settlements of southern Louisiana, the American-Spanish settle- 
ments in Texas, and the Spanish settlements of New Mexico, 
Arizona, and California. 

In 1860 settlements of magnitude first appeared in the Rocky 
mountains and on the Pacilic coast. Those in California con- 
sisted of gold-hunters, and those in Utah of Mormons. In 1870 
they had spread widely. To the gold-hunters of California had 
been added thousands of farmers who were subduing the broad 
acres of the Sacramento valley. The Mormons had increased 
and multiplied, and gold-hunters had spread into Idaho and 
Montana. 

Settlement in 1890. — The last decade has witnessed an 
unprecedented development of the public domain. With the 
exception of a few isolated areas of small extent, the eastern 
half of the United States had long ago been subjugated, and the 
extension of settleuient has been confined practically to the far 
west, which has been the scene of tremendous changes during 
the decade. 

Ten years ago there was a well-defined frontier line stretching 
down the plains not far from the 100th meridian, the limit of 
settlement being here a degree or two east, and there a degree or 
two west of this line ; while beyond it were scattered and iso- 
lated bodies of settlement — some of them, it is true, of consider- 
able extent. During ten years this frontier line moved west- 
ward, while the isolated bodies of settlement have spread out 
east and west, north and south, and joined themselves together, 
and in turn have been joined by the advancing frontier line; so 
that to-day there is in this region no longer a frontier line, bat 
rather a continuous body of settlement, interspersed by a few 
unoccupied areas, like islands, some large, some small, which 
5 



66 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



either by reason of their elevation and consequent rigorous 
climate, or the absence of water for irrigation, have thus far 
been passed b}'' in the selective development of the great 
west. 

The Settled Area. — The following table presents the 
total settled area and the unsettled area at the date of each cen- 
sus, with the proportion which the settled area bears to the total 
area of the country : 

SETTLED AND UNSETTLED AREA AT EACH CENSUS 



Census Ybars 


Total area of settle- 
ment ; 3 or more to 
the square mile 


Unsettled area 


Proportion of 

settled to total 

area 


1790 


239.935 

305,708 

407,945 

508,717 

632,717 

807,292 

979,249 

1,194,754 

1,272.239 

1.569.570 

1,947,285 


587,909 
522,136 
1,591.830 
1,491.058 
1,426.326 
1.251,751 
2,001,710 
1,831,746 
2,331,645 
2,034,314 
1,656,599 


291 


1800 


37^ 
20,'? 

m% 

35;? 
44^ 


1810 

1820 

1880 

1840 


1850 


1860 


1870 


1880 


1890 


54^ 





Thus it is shown that, under the definition given, the set- 
tled area in 1790 comprised nearly one-third of the total area 
of the United States, and that, in spite of the enormous addi- 
tions which have increased the national domain to nearly four 
and a half times its original area, the proportion of settled area 
has increased within a century, until at present it exceeds one- 
half of the total area, including Alaska. Excluding this terri- 
tory of 570,000 square miles, nearly two-thirds of the total area 
of the country is now classed as settled. 

This table shows also that except in very few cases the settled 
area has constantly and rapidly increased; but by no means at 
a uniform rate, or at rates proportional to the increase of popu- 
lation. To illustrate these facts, the following table is appended, 
showing in juxtaposition the rates of increase of the settled area 
and of the population : 



POPULATION 



67 



RATES OP INCREASE OF SETTLED AREA" AND OF POPULATION 





Decade 


Per Cent. 


3F Increase 




Settled Area 


Population 


17!»0-1800 


27.41 
33.44 
24.70 
24.38 
27.59 
21 30 
23.01 
6.49 
23.37 
24.06 


35 . 10 


1800-1810 


30.38 


1810-1820 


33 . 07 


1820-1830 


33.i55 


1830-1840 


32.67 


1840-1850 


35.87 


1850-1860 


35.58 


1800-1870 


22.63 


1870-1880 


30.08 


1880-18U0 


24.86 









At the last census the populatioa was nearly sixteen times as 
great as at the first census, while during the century the settled 
area has increased only about eightfold. On the whole, the 
increase of population has been twice as rapid as that of settled 
area. 

Density of Population by Groups. — Let us now glance 
at the distribution of the population more in detail, and dis- 
cover tho.se areas which are densely settled and those which are 
sparseh^ settled, using the following classification — it being 
understood that all cities of 8,000 inhabitants or upwards have 
been separated from the remainder of the population and 
dropped from consideration : 



CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLED AREA 

(a) Les.s than 2 inhabitants to a .square mile. 
(6) 2 to 6 inhabitants to a square mile. 

(c) 6 to 18 inliabitants to a square mile. 

(d) 18 to 45 inhabitants to a square mile. 

(e) 45 to 90 inhabitants to a square inile. 

(J) More than 90 inhabitants to a square mile. 

The first of the above groups, (a), that in which the population 
averages less than two inhabitants to a square mile, is regarded 
as unsettled country. 

These limits define in a general way the prevalence of differ-. 



68 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



ent groups of industries. Grnmp (5), two to six to a square mile, 
indicates a population mainly occupied with the grazing indus- 
try ; or, at best, a widely scattered fanning population. Group 
(c) indicates a farming population with a systematic cultivation 
of the soil, but in rather an early stage of settlement, or in an 
unproductive region. Group {d) indicates a highly successful 
agricultural stage, while in some localities the commencement of 
the manufacturing stage has arrived. 

Generally speaking, agriculture is not so highly developed in 
this country as to afford employment and support to a popula- 
tion greater than forty-five to a square mile. The last two 
groups, therefore, (e) and (/), where the density of population 
is forty-five inhabitants or more to a square mile, appear only 
as commerce and manufactures are developed, and personal and 
professional services are therefore in demand. 

The following table gives the area included at the time of 
each census, in each of the five groups which collectively com- 
prise the settled area : 

AREA IN SQUARE MILES OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OP 

SETTLEMENT 





B 


C 


n 


E 


F 


Census 


2 to 6 to a 
square mile 


6 to 18 to a 
square mile 


18 to 45 to a 
square mile 


45 to 90 to a 
square mile 


90 and over to 
a square mile 


1790 


83,436 
81,010 
116,629 
140,827 
151,460 
183,607 
233.697 
260,866 
245.897 
384.820 
592,037 


83,346 
123,267 
154,419 
177,153 
225,894 
291,819 
294,698 
353,341 
363,475 
373,890 
393,943 


59,282 
82,504 
108,155 
150,390 
186,503 
241,587 
338,796 
431,601 
470,529 
554,300 
701,845 


13,051 

17,734 

27,499 

39,004 

65,446 

84,451 

100,794 

134,722 

174,036 

231,410 

235,148 


820 


1800 


1,193 


1810 


1,248 


1820 


1,348 


1830 .... 

1840 

1850 


3,414 

5,828 

11,264 


1860 

1870 


14,224 
18,302 


1880 


25.150 


1890 


24,812 







Density of Population of States. — The table on page 
69 gives the number of inhabitants of each state, and group of 
states, per square mile, in 1890 : 



POPULATION 



m 



POPULATION PER SQUARE MILE, BY STATES, IN 1890 



States and Territories 




States and Territories 




The United States 


21.3 


Wisconsin 


31 


(exckidiiig Alaska). . 
North Atlantic Division. . . 




16.4 
34.5 
39.0 


107.4 


Iowa 

Missouri 




North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 


2.6 
4.3 

13.8 


Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 


22.1 

41.8 
36.4 
278.5 
318.4 
150.4 
126.0 
193.0 
116.9 

33.0 


Kansas 


17.5 


Massachusetts 

Rhode Island . *. 


South Central Division 

Kentucky 

Tennessee . 


18.9 


New York 


46 5 


New Jersey 


42.3 


Pennsylvania 

South Atlantic Division . . . 


Alabama 


29.4 


Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 


27.8 

24.6 

8.5 

1 6 


Delaware 


86.0 

105.7 

3,839.8 

41.3 

31.0 

33.3 

38.2 

31.2 

7.2 

29.7 


Oklahoma 

Arkansas 


Maryland 


21 3 


District of Columbia . 
Virginia 


Western Division 


2 G 




Montana 




North Carolina 


0.9 


South Carolina 


Wvoming 


6 


Georgia 


Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 


4.0 


Florida 


1.3 
0.5 


North Central Division. . . 


Utah 


2 5 






4 


Ohio 


90.1 
61 
68.3 
36.5 


Idaho 

AVashington 


1 


Indiana 


5 2 


Illinois 


Oregon 


3.3 


Michigan 


California 


7.7 









This table shows that, with the exception of the District of 
Columbia, which is to all intents and purposes a municipality, 
the most densely settled state is Ehode Island, with three hun- 
dred and eighteen inhabitants per square mile, and following 
that is Massachusetts, with two hundred and seventy-eight per 
square mile. In these states the density of population is as 
great as in many of the most thickly settled European coun- 
tries. Indeed, the entire North Atlantic Division, which is 
preeminently the manufacturing section, has a dense popula- 
tion, the average being more than one hundred inhabitants to 
the square mile. 



70 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



The South Atlantic and South Central Divisions, which are 
preeminently farming regions, are much less densely peopled ; 
and the scattered character of the population of the western 
states and territories, with their mixed industries, which con- 
sist largely of grazing and mining with some agriculture, is 
illustrated by its low density. 

The density of population of each state in 1890, is graph- 
ically shown by the following diagram and also by the map, 
Plate 5. 



2.5 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 
RHODE ISLAND 
MASSACHUSETTS 
NEW JERSEY 
CONNECTICUT 
NEW YORK 
PENNSYLVANIA 
MARYLAND 

OHIO 

DELAWARE 
ILLINOIS... 

INDIANA 

KENTUCKY 
TENNESSEE 
NEW HAMPSHIRE 

VIRGINIA 

MISSOURI 
SOUTH CAROLINA 
MICHIGAN 
VERMONT 

IOWA 

NORTH CAROLINA 

GEORGIA 
WISCONSIN 
WEST VIRGINIA 

ALABAMA 

MISSISSIPPI 

LOUISIANA 

MAINE 

ARKANSAS 

KANSAS 

MINNESOTA 

NEBRASKA 

TEXAS 

CALIFORNIA 

FLORIDA 

WASHINGTON 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

COLORADO 

OREGON 

NORTH DAKOTA 

UTAH 

OKLAHOMA 

NEW MEXICO 

IDAHO 

ARIZONA 

NUMBER OF INHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE IN 1890 




POPULATION 



71 



CENTER OF POPULATION 

The center of population is the center of gravity of the inhab- 
itants of the country ; each person being supposed to have the 
same weight, and to press downwards with a foi'ce proportional 
to his distance from this center. The movement of the center of 
population from decade to decade expresses the net resultant of 
all the movements of population which have taken place. The 
following table, and the map on page 73, show its position at each 
census from the beginning : 

POSITION OF THE CENTER OF POPULATION 



Census Yeak 


North Latitude 


West Longitude 


1790 


39° 10.5' 

39° i6.r 

39° 11.5' 
39° 5.7' 
38° 57.9' 
39° 2.0' 
38° 59.0' 
39° 0.4' 
.39° 12.0' 
39° 4.1' 
39° 11.9' 


76° 11.2' 


1800 


76° 56.5' 


1810 


77° 37 2' 


1820 


78° 33.0' 


1830 


79° 16.9' 


1840 


80° 18.0' 


18.50 


81° 19.0' 


1860 


82° 48.8' 


1870 


83° 35.7' 


1880 


84° 39.7' 


1890 


85° 32.9' 







Movements of the Center. — In 1790 the center of 
population was about twenty-three miles east of Baltimore, 
Maryland. During the next decade it moved almost due west 
to a point about eighteen miles west of Baltimore, the westward 
movement being about forty-one miles. Between 1800 and 1810 
it moved thirty-six miles to the westward and made a little 
southing, being then, in ISIO, about forty miles northwest by 
west from Washington. The southward movement during this 
decade was probably due to the annexation of Louisiana, which 
added quite a body of population in the vicinity of New Orleans. 

Between 1810 and 1820 it moved fifty miles to the westward 
and again slightly southward, being found in 1820 about sixteen 



72 THE BUILDIXG OF A XATIOX 

miles north of Woodstock. Virginia. The southward component 
of its motion was probably due to the extension of settlement in 
Mississippi. Alabama, and eastern Georgia. Between 1S20 and 
1830 it moved thirtv-nine miles to the westward and again 
slightly south wapi. to a jx)int about nineteen miles west south- 
west of Moorefield. West Virginia. 

This southward movement was due to the accession of Florida 
and to the rapid extension of settlements in Mississippi Louis- 
iana, and Arkansas. Between 1830 and 1840 its westward 
movement amounted to lifty-five miles, while, instead of bearing 
southward, it bore slightly northward to a point sixteen miles 
south of Clarksburg. West Virginia, the extension of settleoaent 
in Michigan and Wisconsin having apparently overbalanced that 
in the far south. Between 1840 and 1S50 it again made fifty- 
five miles of westing and turned slightly southward, being found 
at a point twenty-three miles southeast of Parkersburg, West 
Virginia. The change to the southward was probably due to 
the annexation of Texas, which embraced a considerable popu- 
lation. 

From 1850 to 1860 it moved eighty-one miles to the westward 
and turned slightly northward, reaching a point twenty miles 
south of Chillicothe, Ohia From 1860 to 1870 it moved west- 
ward forty-two miles, besides making a considerable northing, 
being in 1870 forty-eight miles east by north of Cincinnati Ohio. 
This northing was doubtless due in part to the waste and de- 
struction attendant on the civil war at the south, and in part to 
the rapid extension of settlement in the northwest, and. further- 
more, to the omissions of the census of 1870. 

In 1S80 the center had returned southward to nearly the same 
latitude it occupied in 1S6<J. and at the same time it had 
marched westward nfty-eight miles, being found eight miles west 
by south of Cincinnati. Ohio. During the past decade the center 
of population has moved to practically the same latitude reached 
in 1S70. and has made a westing of forty-eight miles, being in 
lS9<r» twenty miles east of Columbus. Indiana. 

While the increase of pt^pulation has been rapid in many parts 
of the south, notably in Florida and Texas, still it has been far 
overbalanced bv the increase in the Dakotas. Montana. Wash- 



POPULATION 



73 




74 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

ingtoD, and Oregon, in the northwest, which accounts for the 
northward component of its movement. On the other hand, the 
reduction in the rate of its westward movement is doubtless due 
to the rapid growth in the northeastern manufacturing states, 
which has tended toward retarding the center in its westward 
march. 

The progress of the nation in population and spread of settle- 
ment is epitomized in the following statement: The center of 
population has moved westward within the century 9° 22' of 
longitude, or a distance of five hundred and five miles. It has 
remained during this period in almost precisely the same lati- 
tude, the extreme range in latitude among the positions which it 
has assumed being only 1S'.6, or about twenty-five miles. 

The center of population in 1890 was in latitude 39° 11'.9. 
and longitude 85° 32'.9. On the other hand, the center of area 
of the country, excluding Alaska, is in the northern part of 
Kansas, in approximate latitude 39° 55', and approximate longi- 
tude 98° 50'. The center of population is therefore about three- 
fourths of a degree south, and more than seventeen degrees east, 
of the center of area. 

URBAN POPULATION 

The population of the country may be classed as urban and 
rural ; the rural element being engaged mainly in agricultural 
occupations, while the urban element is engaged in manufac- 
tures, transportation, commerce, and personal services of one 
sort or another. These two elements are closely allied with the 
groups of occupations as here noted, so that as manufactures 
and commerce increase, the urban element increases correspond- 
ingly. 

For obvious reasons it is impossible to make a complete dis- 
tinction between these two elements, although it is easy to make 
an approximate classification. Many cities contain, within their 
corporate limits, extensive suburbs which are practically rural 
communities ; and, on the other hand, there are scattered all 
through the country small bodies of population closely aggre- 
gated, which cannot be distinguished from the scattered rural 



POPULATION 



75 



population among which they dwell. Such cases are extremely 
common in the New England towns and cities, which comprise 
considerable areas, and which consist in varying parts of urban 
and rural population, that cannot be separated from one another, 
owing to the fact that the town is the smallest political unit 
returned by the census. The Census Office maintains the iron 
rule of regarding as urban all concentrated bodies of population 
exceeding eight thousand in number, and this rule has been 
observed in the following discussion. 

The annexed table shows the urban and rural population of 
the country, under the above definition, at each census, together 
with the proportion which the urban population bears to the 
total population. The urban and rural population is shown 
also in the diagram on page 76. 

URBAN AND RURAL ELEMENTS OP POPULATION 



Census Years 



1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 



Urban Pop- 
ulation. 



131, 
210, 
356, 

475, 
864. 
453, 
,897, 
,072 
,071, 
,318, 
,284, 



472 
873 
920 
135 
509 
994 
586 
256 
875 
547 
385 



Rural Pop- 
ulation. 



797,742 
097,610 
882,961 
158,687 
001,511 
615,459 
294,290 
371,065 
486,496 
837,236 
337,865 



Urban to total 
Population 



8.35 

3.97 

4.93 

4.93 

6.72 

8.52 

12.49 

16.13 

20.93 

22.57 

29.20 



A century ago this country contained but six cities having a 
population of more than 8,000 each, and the urban population 
constituted but 3.35 per cent, or about one-thirty-third, of the 
entire population of the country. To-day the number of such 
cities is 443, and their population 18,284,385, which is 29.20 per 
cent,, or not very much less than one-third of the entire popula- 
tion. The total population is about si.xteen times as great as it 
was a hundred years ago, while the urban population is one 
hundred and thirty-nine times as great. 

This aggregation of the people in cities is a natural and 



76 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 




I 



POPULATION 



77 



necessary result of the increasing density of population and of 
the consequent change in avocations, as has already been stated. 
It has gone on in this countiT at a constantly accelerating rate, 
and the acceleration will probably be even more marked in the 
future than in the past, as a greater part of our domain reaches 
and passes in density of population the limit of successful agri- 
culture. 

The following table shows the rate of increase of the urban 
and rural elements during each decade : 

URBAN AND RURAL INCREASE, BY DECADES 





Decade 


Per Cent, of Increase 




Urban 


Rnrcal 


1790-1800 




60 
70 
34 
83 
68 
99 
75 
59 
40 
61 


34 


1800-1810 


35 


1810-1820 


33 


1820-1830 


31 


1830-1840 


30 


1840-1850 


30 


1850-1860 


30 


1800-1870 


15 


1870-1880 


27 


1880-1890 


15 







The increase of the rural element appears to be quite regular, 
having diminished gradually from thirty-four or thirty -five per 
cent, to fifteen. Between 1860 and 1870 the rate of increase of 
this element was reduced, and between 1870 and 1880 it was in- 
creased, by the omissions of the census of 1870. It is presum- 
able that if the correct figures of that census could be obtained, 
they would eliminate these apparent irregularities. 

The rate of increase of the urban element has been greater in 
each decade than that of the rural element, and in most cases 
has been much greater, even doubling or trebling it. 

Distribution of the Urban Element. — The urban ele- 
ment is distributed very unequally over the country, as is shown 
in the table on page 78, which gives the number and proportion 
of this element in each geographic division of the country. This 



78 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



distribution is shown further and more in detail bj the map, 
Plate 6. 

URBAN POPULATION BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS 



GEOiJKAriuo Divisions 



Total 

NoTtli Atlantic Division 
Soutli Atlantic Division 
North Central Division. 
Sonth Central Division. 
Western Division 



Urban 


Per cent, of entire 


Population 


Urban Population 


18.284,385 


100 00 


9,015,383 


49.31 


1,419.964 


7. 70 


5.793,896 


31.09 


1.147.089 


0.27 


908,053 


4.97 



Thus it appears that the North Atlantic states contain nearly 
one-half of the urban po[)ulation of the country, and that the 
North Atlantic and North Central states together contain nearly 
five-sixths of it. 

Of the total population of the North Atlantic states, 61.81 per 
cent., or more than one-half, is contained in cities of 8,000 or 
more inhabitants. During the past decade the urban element of 
these states has increased 48.53 per cent, while the entire popu- 
lation has increased but 19.95 per cent. This rapid growth of 
the urban element is due to the rapid extension of manufactures 
and commerce. 

In several of these states the urban element greatly exceeds 
the rural. Thus in Rhode Island the urban population forms 
78.80 per cent, in Massachusetts 69.90, in New York 59.50, 
in New Jersey 54.05 : while in Connecticut the population is 
almost equally divided between the rural and urban elements. 

Of the population of the North Central states. 25.9 per cent., 
or a trifle more than a quarter of the inhabitants, was, under 
our definition, classed as urban. In the past decade the urban 
element has nearly doubled in nnmbers, while the population has 
increased but 28.78 per cent. Although the number of cities 
has increased from 95 in 1880 to 152 in 1890, the greater part 
of the increase in the urban element has consisted in additions 
to a few large cities. Indeed, the increase in the eleven largest 
cities of these states, whose population comprised a trifle more 



POPULATION 



79 



than half their total urban population, amounted to more than 
half the entire gain in urban population in this group of states. 



NEW YORK. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

ILLINOIS. 

OHIO 

MISSOURI. 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

TEXAS. 

INDIANA 

MICHIGAN. 
IOWA....... 

KENTUCKY. 

GEORGIA. 

TENNESSEE. 

WISCONSIN. 

VIRGINIA. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

ALABAMA. 

NEW JERSEY. 

KANSAS 

MINNESOTA. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

CALIFORNIA. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ARKANSAS. 

LOUISIANA. 

NEBRASKA. 

MARYLAND 

WEST VIRGINIA 

CONNECTICUT 

MAINE 

COLORADO. 

FLORIDA. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

WASHINGTON 

RHODE ISLAND. 

VERMONT. 

SOUTH DAKOTA. 

OREGON. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

UTAH.... 

NORTH DAKOTA 

DELAWARE 

NEW MEXICO 

MONTANA.. . 

IDAHO.. 

OKLAHOMA 

WYOMING 

ARIZONA 

NEVADA "" 



MILLIONS OF INHABITANTS 
2 3 4 




The total length of each bar repre- 
sents the aggregate ■population. The 
black part of the bar represents the 
Urban element. 



AGGREGATE POPULATION AND URBAN ELEMENT IN CITIES 
OF 8,000 OR MORE INHABITANTS, BY STATES, IN 1890 

In the southern states the proportion of urban population is 
small, being less than 13 per cent. The industries of these 
States are mainly agricultural, and while manufacturing and 
mining are making some progress they are still in their infancy. 
The growth of these branches of industry may be measured 
roughly by the growth of the urban element. During the past 
decade the urban element of the south increased 58.88 per 



80 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



cent., while the entire population had increased but 20.07 per 
cent. In certain of the southern states the proportion of the 
urban element is still absolutely' trifling. Thus, in Mississippi 
it constitutes but 2.64 per cent, in North Carolina but 3.87, and 
in Arkansas only 4.89 per cent, of the total population. 

In the western states mining, commerce, and manufactures 
are in a much more advanced stage than at the south, as is 
shown by the greater proportion of the urban element. In 1880 
it constituted 23.97 per cent, of the population, and in 1890 
29.74 per cent,, showing that it had gained more rapidly than 
the total population. 

Great Cities. — In 1880 there was but one city, New York, 
which had a population of more than a million. In 1890 there 
were three — New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. In 1870 
there were only 14 cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants each. 
In 1880 this number had increased to 20, and in 1890 to 28. 
They are as follows : 



CITIES OP OVER 100,000 POPULATION IN 1890 



Cities 


Population 


Cities 


Population 


New York 


1.515,301 
1,099,850 
1,046,964 
806,343 
451,770 
448,477 
434.439 
298,997 
296,908 
261,353 
255.664 
242,039 
238.617 
230,392 


Detroit 


205,876 


Chicago 


Milwaukee ... 

Newai'k 


204,468 


Philadelphia 


181.830 


Brooklyn 


Minneapolis 


164,738 


St Louis 


Jersey City ... 


163,093 


Boston , . 


Louisville 


161,129 


Baltimore . . 


Omaha 


140 452 


San Francisco 


Rochester 


133,896 


Cincinnati 


St. Paul 

Kansas City 


133,156 




132.716 


Buffalo 


Providence 

Denver 


132,146 
106,713 


Pittsburg 


Indianapolis 


105,436 


W^ashington 


Allegheny 


105,287 









The population of these 28 cities was 9,788,150, which formed 
not less than 15.6 per cent, of the entire population of the 
country. 

The following table shows the number of cities, classified 
according to population, at the date of each census: 



POPULATION 



81 



NUMBER OF CITIES, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO POPULATION 



Census Years 


Total 


8,000 

to 
18,000 


12,000 

to 
20,000 


20,000 

to 
40,000 


40,000 

to 
75,000 


75,000 

to 
125,000 


125,000 

to 
350,000 


250,000 

to 
500,000 


500,000 

to 

1,000,000 


1,000,000 

and 

above 


1790 


6 

6 

11 

13 

26 

44 

85 

141 

226 

286 

443 


1 

1 

4 

3 

12 

17 

36 

62 

92 

110 

173 


3 

"k" 

4 

11 
20 
34 
63 
76 
105 


1 

3 

3 

2 

3 

10 

14 

23 

39 

55 

91 


1 
o 

"2" 

1 

1 

7 
12 
14 
21 
35 












1800 












1810 


2 
2 

1 
3 
3 
3 
8 
9 
14 










1820 










1830 



1 
3 
5 
3 
7 
14 








1840 


1 

1 
1 
5 
4 

7 






1850 


1 
2 
3 
3 

1 




I860 




1870 




1880 


1 


1890 


3 







The Greater New York. — While the only defined limits 
which can be given to a city are those described in its charter, 
and within whicli it has jurisdiction, still it is easy to see that 
in many cases large bodies of population, to all intents and pur- 
poses portions of the city, may not be credited to it, because 
they happen to lie without its charter limits. There are many 
cases of large and populous suburbs, whose inhabitants are 
connected with the adjoining city through their business and 
personal interests, which, lying without the corporate limits, are 
not parts of it, either legally or in the view of the Census Office. 

By far the most important of such cases is that of New York, 
whose charter limits comprise only Manhattan island and a 
small area upon the mainland to the north. Within a radius 
of fifteen miles of the City Hall are included not only all of 
New York city proper, but Brooklyn, and indeed all of Kings 
county which is practically one continuous city, and a large 
part of Queens county which contains a number of populous 
towns. On the north this radius includes Yonkers and an im- 
mense suburban population in Westchester county, while across 
the Hudson river, in New Jersey, are Jersey City, Hoboken, 
Passaic, and Paterson, with numerous large villages. Now, all 
this territory is in the truest sense tributary to New York. The 
ferries and suburban trains carry a hundred thousand people 
into the metropolis every morning to their business and return 
them to their homes at night. It is the greater New York in as 
true a sense as the metropolitan district is the greater London. 
6 



82 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



Within this greater New York live three and a quarter 
millions of human beings, making a city two-thirds the size of 
Loudon, and second only to it upon the globe. 

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 

Although civilized man has made himself independent of his 
environment to a considerable extent, still that environment 
retains a decided influence over bim. It consists mainly of 
geographic conditions, such as climate, soil, and altitude. The 
influences of these factors in determining his migrations and his 
welfare are of great interest. 

The elements of climate which it is worth while to consider 
in connection with man's distribution in this country, are tem- 
perature and rainfall. These elements have been discussed in 
earlier pages with reference to the surface of the country. Let 
us now see in what proportions the population is distributed 
with reference to them. 

Distribution according- to Tenii>erature. — The fol- 
lowing table shows the proportional parts of the total population, 
the foreign born, and the colored, living at the date of the last 
census within the designated belts of temperature. The popu- 
lation at each census is supposed to be one hundred, and the 
proportional parts are expressed in percentages thereof. Each 
temperature belt comprises five degrees. 

DISTRIBUTION OP POPULATION AS TO MEAN ANNUAL 
TEMPERATURE 



Degrees op Temperature 


Total 


Foreign 


Colored 


Below 40° 


1.65 

8.18 

37.42 

31.58 

13.78 

9.87 

6.28 

1.21 

.03 


3.43 

14.43 

40.94 

31.25 

6.04 

1.27 

1.49 

1.03 

.12 


04 


40° to 45° 


21 


45° to 50° 


2 16 


50° to 55° 


10 20 


55° to 60° 


24 16 


60° to 65° 


36 43 


65° to 70° 


23.57 


70° to 75° 


3.15 


Above 75° 


08 







POPULATION 83 

Thus it appears that more than half the population live where 
the mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees. 
Nearly three-fourths live between 45 and 60, and between 40 
and 70 degrees practicallj the entire population is found. 

The foreign population live under colder conditions than the 
total population. Forty per cent, are found where the tempera- 
ture averages between 45 and 50 degrees, and between 40 and 55 
degrees are found nearly 87 per cent, of the entire foreign ele- 
ment, while at the higher temperatures the proportion of this 
element is trifling. 

On the other hand, the colored population are found under con- 
ditions of temperature much higher than either the total popu- 
lation or the foreign born. The maximum proportion — namely, 
36 per cent. — live between the temperatures of 60 and 65 degrees, 
while between 65 and 70 degrees are no less than 84 per cent, of 
the entire colored element. Where the maximum of the for- 
eign element is found, there exists but two per cent, of the 
colored. 

The average annual temperature of the territory of the United 
States, excluding Alaska from consideration, is 53 degrees. 
The average aniiual temperature under which the people of the 
country live, taking into account the density of settlement, is 
practically the same. 

The average temperature under whicli the foreign born ele- 
ment exist is 5 degrees lower — namely, 48 degrees — whilst that 
under which the colored people live is 61 degrees, being 8 
degrees higher than that of the total population, and no less than 
13 degrees higher than that of the foreign element. 

Distribution under Rainfall Conditions. — The 
amount of rainfall has a direct influence upon most industries, 
and especially upon agriculture, in which the majority of the 
po]:)ulation are occupied. Where the rainfall ranges from 30 to 
50 inches annually, there, other things being equal, the condi- 
tions are most favorable for the agricultural industry, and 
within that range of annual rainfall is found, as was to have 
been expected, the greater portion of the population. Indeed, 
nearly three-fourths of the population occupy this region, as 
shown in the following table : 



84 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION AS TO MEAN ANNUAL 
RAINFALL 



Inches of Rainfall 



Below 10. 
10 to 20.. 
20 to 30. . 
30 to 40.. 
40 to 50. . 
50 to 60 , 
60 to 70.. 
Above 70 



Total 


Foreign 


.30 


.55 


2.61 


3.98 


6.04 


10.32 


34.11 


41.64 


39.40 


41.08 


16.16 


1.56 


1.27 


.75 


.06 


.12 



Colored 



.03 

.23 

.39 

5.15 

31.49 

59.99 

2.73 



In the region where the rainfall is greater than 20 inches, are 
found 97 per cent, of all the inhabitants, the remaining 8 per 
cent, being scattered over the region where irrigation is re- 
quired. 

The average annual rainfall on tlie surface of the United 
States, excluding Alaska, is 26,7 inches. The average rainfall 
with reference to the population, deduced by giving a weight to 
each area of country in proportion to the number of its inhabi- 
tants, was, in 1870, 42.5 inches. In 1880 it had diminished to 
42 inches, and in 1890 to 41.4 inches, this progressive diminu- 
tion being caused by the settlement of the great plains and the 
arid regions of the west. 

The distribution of the foreign born with respect to rainfall 
conditions does not differ materially from that of tlie total pop- 
ulation. On the wliole, the foreigners inhabit a slightly dryer 
climate. Nearly all of them live where the rainfall ranges from 
30 to 50 inches annually. 

The habitat of the colored people with reference to rainfall 
conditions is more characteristic than that of the foreign born. 
They affect regions having a greater rainfall than either the for- 
eign element or the total population. The maximum proportion 
of this element — namely, 60 per cent. — is found where the rain- 
fall ranges from 50 to 60 inches, and between 40 and 60 inches 
are over nine-tenths of all the colored. 

Distribution in Altitude. — The distribution of the popu- 
lation with its elements, in altitude above sea level, is another 



POPULATION 



85 



matter of geographic interest. In the following table is given 
the proportion of the population and of its elements, expressed 
in percentages of the total, found living in 1890 at various eleva- 
tions ranging from sea level to more than ten thousand feet : 

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION AS TO ALTITUDE 



to 100 

100 to 500 

500 to 1,000 

1,000 to 1,500 

1.500 to 2,000 

2,000 to 3,000 

3,000 to 4,000 

4,000 to 5,000 

5,000 to 6,000 

6.000 to 7,000 

7,000 to 8,000 

8,000 to 9,000 

9,000 to 10,000 

Above 10,000 



10.59 

22.10 

38.24 

15.10 

3.76 

1 84 

.61 

.47 

.78 

.26 

.16 

.07 

.06 

.02 



Foreign Born 



Colored 



25.08 


22.86 


14.28 


47.34 


37.84 


24.31 


14.92 


3.74 


3.44 


.80 


1.29 


.58 


.52 


.20 


.62 


.05 


1.23 


.08 


.37 


.03 


.18 


.01 


.10 




.11 




.03 





From this table it appears that the great body of the popula- 
tion, indeed more than three-fourths of them, live at elevations 
less than one thousand feet above the level of the sea, and that 
more than nine-tenths of them are found below the contour of 
fifteen hundred feet. At greater elevations the population is 
scattering. 

The distribution of the foreign born in this respect does not 
differ materially from that of the total population. A much 
larger proportion is found below one hundred feet than in the 
ca.>^e of the total population, while below one thousand feet 
and fifteen hundred feet the proportions are very nearly the 
same. 

The chief characteristic of the colored element is its indisposi- 
tion to seek great altitudes ; 23 per cent, are found below one 
hundred feet, 68 per cent, below five hundred feet, and no less 
than 94 per cent, below one thousand feet; while above eight 
thousand feet no measurable number are found. 

The average elevation of the United States, excluding Alaska, 



86 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

is estimated at about two thousand five hundred feet. The 
average elevation at whici] all the inhabitants live is seven hun- 
dred and eighty-eight feet. That of the foreign element is some- 
what greater, being eight hundred and ninety feet, while the 
colored population live much nearer the sea level, their mean 
elevation being only four hundred and twenty-seven feet, a fact 
which serves to emphasize the tendency of this element toward 
the low, hot sections of the country. 

Size of Families. — The average size of families has dimin- 
ished continuously since 1850, when statistics on this point were 
first obtained by the census. The following little table shows 
the average number of persons per famil}- at each census since 
that date: 

SIZE OP FAMILIES AT EACH CENSUS 

CENSUS TEAR PERSONS PER FAMILY 

1850 5.55 

1860 5.28 

1870 5.09 

1880 5.04 

1890 4.93 

The family has diminished in average size, from 5.55 persons 
in 1850 to 4.93 persons in 1890, a diminution of over eleven per 
cent, in the past forty years. 

In 1890 the smallest families were found in uoi'thern New 
England, where the number of children has steadily diminished, 
and in the states and te-rritories of the far west, where, owing to 
the unsettled conditions, the proportion of women and children 
is small. The average family of the southern states, although 
diminishing in size, is still much larger than in other parts of 
the country. This is due in no small degree to the large pro- 
portion of the colored in these states, among which the birth- 
rate is exceptionally great. The families of the whites in the 
south are also larger than the average of the country, indeed 
quite as large as in the north central states, where the large pro- 
portion of Germans, Norwegians, and Swedes, with their large 
families, increases the average of this group of states. This 
distribution is shown in the following diagram : 



POPULATION 



87 



1 

TEXAS 


) 1 




PERS 
2 


ONS 
3 


\ £ 


> 


VIRGINIA 




^^^^_ 








^^^ 


WEST VIRGINIA 












^^ 


UTAH 












^^^ 


MISSISSIPPI 












L__ 


TENNESSEE 












^^^ 


ARKANSAS 












^ 


ALABAMA 












^^ 


NORTH CAROLINA 












^ 


MINNESOTA 












^ 


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 


























LOUISIANA 














GEORGIA 












^ 


MARYLAND 












^ 


SOUTH CAROLINA 














NEBRASKA 














MISSOURI 














WISCONSIN 














WYOMING 














PENNSYLVANIA 














WASHINGTON 














CALIFORNIA 














ILLINOIS 














IOWA 














OREGON 














COLORADO 










^"^"" 




FLORIDA 














DELAWARE 














MONTANA 










^^^^ 




KANSAS 















NORTH DAKOTA 










"' 




INDIANA 










^"'" 




NEW JERSEY 














OHIO 














SOUTH DAKOTA 










^^^ 




MASSACHUSETTS 















IDAHO 















RHODE ISLAND 














MICHIGAN 















NEW YORK 










^^ 




CONNECTICUT 















NEVADA 










^^ 




ARIZONA 














MAINE 










^^ 




VERMONT 














NEW MEXICO 










^ 




NEW HAMPSHIRE 




1 












1 




^ 



















AVERAGE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO A FAMILY IN 1890 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



SEX 

Of the total population in 1890, 32.067,880 were males and 
30,554,370 were females. The following table shows the propor- 
tion which the number of each sex bore to the total population 
at each census, from 1850 to 1890 : 

PROPORTION OP THE SEXES, 1850 TO 1890 



Census Years 


Sex 


Male 


Female 


1890 


Per cent. 
51.21 
50.88 
50.56 
51.16 
51.04 


Per cent. 
48.79 


1880 


49.12 


1870 


49 44 


1860 


48.84 


1850 


48.96 



From this it appears that the proportion of males has been in 
excess of females continuously since 1850, and that this propor- 
tion has tended to increase, but that such tendency received a 
set-back during the civil war, from which it is now recovering. 

Distribution of the Sexes in European Countries. 
— Under normal conditions the numbers of the two sexes are 
very nearly equal, the preponderance, if any, being in favor of 
the female. This is true among the nations of Europe, and is 
illustrated in the following table showing the proportions of the 
sexes in the population of the countries named : 



PROPORTIONS OF THE SEXES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 





Percen 


TAGE OP 




Males 


Females 


United Kingdom 


48.54 
48.91 
48.75 
48.94 
49.43 
49.04 
48.44 
47.90 


51 46 


Austria 


51 09 


Denmark 


51 25 


Germany 


51 06 


Netherlands 


50 58 


Spain 


50 96 


Sweden 


51 56 


Norway 


52 10 







POPULATION 



89 



In every one of these countries females are in excess, the 
proportion ranging from 50.58 to 52.10. The preponderance 
of males in the United States is doubtless due to immigration, of 
which males constitute a decided majority. Of the European 
countries mentioned in the foregoing table, the excess of females 
in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and 
Norway may be accounted for by the emigration from these 
countries ; but in the cases of Austria, the Netherlands, and 
Spain there has been little either of immigration or emigration, 
and therefore the figures given for them present the result of 
comparatively undisturbed natural increase. 

Distribution of the Sexes by States. — The following 
table shows the proportions of males and females in each state, 
and in each group of states, in 1890. This is illustrated also by 
the map, Plate 7, facing page 88. 

PERCENTAGE OP THE SEXES TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



States and Territories 



The rnited States . . 

North Atlantic Division . 

Maine 

New Hampshire. . . . 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

South Atlantic Division 

Delaware 

Maryland 

District of Columbia 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina ... . 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

North Central Division . 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 



Males 


Females 


51.21 


48.79 


49.87 


50.13 


50.31 


49.69 


49.55 


50.45 


50.94 


49.06 


48.58 


51.42 


48.63 


51.37 


49.52 


50. 4S 


49.63 


50.37 


49.89 


50.11 


50.71 


49.29 


49.88 


50.12 


50.79 


49.21 


49.47 


50.53 


47.56 


52.44 


49.78 


50.22 


51.17 


48.83 


49.39 


50.61 


49.72 


50.28 


50.07 


49.93 


51.59 


48.41 


51.85 


48.15 


50.53 


49.47 


51.01 


48.99 


.51.55 


48.45 


52.14 


47.86 



States and Territories 



Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota 

South I)akota 

Nebraska , 

Kansas , 

South Central Division 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Alabama , 

Mississippi 

Louisiana , 

Texas 

Oklahoma 

Arkansas 

Western Division 

Montana 

Wyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 

California 



Males 



51.87 
53.41 
52.01 
51.70 
55.60 
54.82 
54.10 
52.70 

50.98 



50.72 
50.44 
50.06 
50.38 
50.01 
52.45 
56.17 
51.92 

58.88 



66.50 
64.81 
59.50 
&1.07 
61.34 
.53.13 
6:^.84 
60.78 
62.27 
57.95 
57.95 



Females 



48.13 
46.59 
47.99 
48.. 30 
44.40 
45.18 
45.90 
47.30 

49.02 



49.28 
49.. 56 
49.94 
49.63 
49.99 
47.55 
43.83 
48.08 

41.12 



.33.50 
35.19 
40.50 
45.93 
&3.66 
46.87 
36.16 
39.22 
37.73 
42.05 
42.05 



Various states show a wide range in the proportion of the sexes. 
In the states bordering on the Atlantic, with the exception of 



90 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, and Florida, 
females are in excess ; this excess is greatest in the District of 
Columbia, where thej constitute no less than 52,44 per cent, 
of the population, and next greatest in Massachusetts, where the 
corresponding proportion is 51.42 per cent. In all the other 
states males are in excess ; and, speaking broadly, the excess of 
males increases with the longitude, nntil in the states and ter- 
ritories of the far west, where settlement commenced more 
recently, the proportion of females is smallest. Thus in Mon- 
tana there are two males to one female, and in Wyoming the 
proportion of males is nearly as great. 

This condition of things is easy of explanation. The Atlan- 
tic states constitute an old and settled region, from wliich for 
many decades a stream of emigration has flowed westward, and 
this stream has consisted mainly of males. To a certain extent 
their place has been taken by foreign immigration ; otherwise the 
disproportion of the sexes on the Atlantic border would be 
greater than it is. The manufacturing centers of the northeast- 
ern states have attracted large numbers of female as well as 
male operatives, and thus have tended to maintain the dispro- 
portion of the former sex. 

RACES 

Out of a total population in 1890 of 62,622,250, there were 
7,470,040 of negro or mixed blood, 107,745 Chinese, 2,039 
Japanese, and 58,806 Indians enumerated as of the constitu- 
tional population. Persons of negro blood were classified 
according to shades of color, as follows : Blacks, 6,337,980 ; 
mulattoes, 956,989; quadroons, 105,135; and octoroons, 69,- 
936. It is needless to say that these latter figures are utterly 
worthless and misleading. It is not to be supposed for a 
moment that six-sevenths of the colored race are of unmixed 
negro blood, or that the mulattoes number less than a million. 
As for the quadroons and octoroons, the numbers given are too 
absurdly small to require comment. 

The Africans present the spectacle of an inferior race existing 
in close juxtaposition with the whites, and, since the early part 



POPULATION 



91 



of tlie century, unaided by additions to their numbers from 
abroad. For seventy years they existed in a state of slavery ; 
for the last thirty, more or less, in a state of freedom, Tt is most 
interesting to watch the progress of this race and compare it 
with that of the whites. 

History of the Races. — Throwing together all these 
classes of colored, the population is made up of 87.8 per cent, of 
whites, and 12.2 per cent, of colored. Ten years before there 
were 6,580,793 colored persons in the country, and the propor- 
tion of the two races was 86.54 per cent, white, and 13.12 per 
cent, colored. The following table shows the number of white 
and colored during the past century as returned by the censuses: 

WHITE AND COLORED POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS 



Census Years 


White 


Colored 


1790 


3,172,006 

4,306,446 

5,862,073 

7,862,166 

10,537,378 

14,195,805 

19,553,068 

26,922,537 

33,589,377 

43,402,970 

54,983,968 


757,208 


1800 


1,002,037 


1810 


1,377,808 


1820 

1830 


1,771,656 

2,328,642 


1840 


2,873,648 


1850 

1800 


3,638,808 
4,441,830 


1870 

1880 

1890 


4,880.009 
6,580,793 

7,038,282 



The annexed table, derived from the above, shows the pro- 
portions of the two races, given in percentages of the total, at 
each census during the past century : 

PROPORTION OF WHITE AND COLORED BY DECADES 



Census Years 


White 


Colored 


1790 


Per cent. 
80.73 
81.13 
80.97 
81.61 
81.90 
83.17 
84.31 
85.62 
87.11 
86.54 
87.80 


Per cent. 
19.27 


1800 


18.87 


1810 


19.03 


1820 




18.39 


1830 


18.10 


1840 


16.83 


1850 


15.69 


1800 


14.13 


1870 


12.65 


1880 


13.12 


1890 


12.20 







92 



TEE BUILDING OF A NATION 



Relative Dimiiuitioii of the Colored Element. — 

It appears from the foregoing table that in this period of one 
hundred years the proportion of whites has increased from 80.73 
to 87.80 percent., and that the colored people have correspond- 
ingly diminished from 19.27 to 12.20 per cent In 1790 the 
first census showed that the colored race formed nearly one-fifth 
of the population. In 18-10, after a lapse of fifty years, during 
which time the country had received practically no increase from 
immigration, the proportion of colored had fallen to about one- 
sixth of the whole. In the next half century, ending with 
1890, during which the white race had received great additions 
from immigration, that proportion had fallen to less than one- 
eighth of the whole population. The present proportion of the 
colored element is less than two-thirds what it was at the 
beginning of the century. Indeed, the results of each census 
show a diminution in the proportion of colored, with the excep- 
tion of the third and tenth censuses, and the latter was 
undoubtedly due to the deficient enumeration of the censas 
preceding. 

The annexed table and the diagram on page 93 give the 
percentages of increase of the two races : 

INCREASE OF WHITE AXD COLORED, BY DECADES 





Decades 


Pekcentage 


OP IXCKEASE 




White 


Colored 


1790-1800 


35.76 
36.18 
34.12 
34.03 
34.72 
37.74 
37.69 
24.76 
29.91 
26.68 


32.38 


1800-1810 


37.46 


1810-1820 


28.57 


1820-1830 


31.41 


1830-1840 


23.28 


1840-1850 


26.61 


1850-1860 


22.06 


1860-1870 - 


9.86 


1870-1880 .... 


-» 


34.85 


1880-1890 


13.11 







This table shows that with two exceptions, one of which 
is due to the faulty enumeration in 1870, the rate of in- 
crease of the white element has been greater than that of the 



POPULATION 



93 



colored element, while during the past ten years the increase 
has been apparently more than twice as rapid. Throughout our 
history the colored race has almost continuously lost ground in 
proportion to the white. Although the birth rate of the colored 
race is decidedly larger than that of the whites, its death rate, as 
is shown by the mortality records of large southern cities, is still 
greater, being little less on an average than double the death rate 
of the whites. 



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RATE OF INCREASE-WHITE AND COLORED 



The relative rate of increase of the colored people has been, 
especially since the war, a matter of great interest. The exag- 
gerated rate which was given to it between 1870 and 1880, 
because of the omissions of the census of 1870, aroused much 
anxiety concerning the future of the two races. In spite of the 
known weakness of the evidence — for at that time the faulty 
character of the ninth census had been fully established — the 
matter created wide-spread uneasiness, and various projects 



94 THE BUILD IXG OF A NATION 

were suggested for averting the evils threatened bv the expected 
numerical preponderance of the colored race. It is now appar- 
ent that all this anxiety was unwnrranted. 

The facts developed bv the returns of the eleventh census 
fully corroborate the past history of the race and fit in with the 
probabilities of the case. During the seventy years following 
1790, while the colored race was in a condition of slavery, its 
increase was much less rapid than that of the whites, and in 
this tiuie the proportion of the colored element diminished from 
19.27 per cent, of the total population to 14.13 per cent. With- 
in the past thirty years, during most of "which period it has been 
in a state of freedom, it has still further diminished, the propor- 
tion having fallen from 14.13 to 12.20 per cent. The country is 
now much more interested in preserving the laboring population 
of the south than in getting rid of it. 

The colored element is not only increasing less rapidly than 
the whites in the country at large, but in nearlj' every state, as 
will be seen hereafter; and in all probability the relative rates of 
increase of the two races in the southern states will differ more 
and more widely, as time goes on and the industries of these 
states change from an agricultural to a manufacturing character 
and thus attract the foreign labor element. In the border states 
and in the Appalachian mountains manufacturing industries are 
rapidly developing, and in these regions foreign born labor is 
encroaching. This movement threatens to become of great 
importance in the near future. 

The question has been asked, '" Has the condition of slavery 
or of freedom proved the most favorable to the numerical in- 
crease of the colored people? " The figures of the census give 
a ready answer. Their increase has been more rapid under 
conditions of freedom. In the thirty years preceding 1860, 
they increased 48 per cent., while in the following thirty years, 
during only twenty-seven of which they were free, and which 
included the disturbed period of the civil war and of recon- 
struction, they increased not less than 68 per cent. 

Distribution of the Races by States. — The following 
table shows the white and colored population in 1890 b}' states 
and groups of states : 



POPULATION 



95 



WHITE AND COLORED POPULATION IN 1890 



States and Tekritories 



The United States. 



North Atlantic Division. . 



Maine 

New Hampshire. 

Vermont 

Massachusetts. .. 
Rhode Island... 

Connecticut 

New York 

Nt'W Jersey 

Pennsylvania.,. . 



South Atlantic Division. .. 



Delaware 

Maryland 

District of Columbia. 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 



'North Central Division. 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 



White 


Colored 


54,983,890 


7,638,360 


17,121,981 


279,564 


659,263 


1,823 


37.5,840 


690 


331,418 


1,004 


2,215,373 


23,570 


337,859 


7,647 


733,438 


12,820 


5,923,952 


73,901 


1,396,581 


48,352 


5,148,2.57 


109,757 


5,592,149 


3,265,771 


140,066 


28,427 


82(i,4'.)3 


215,897 


154,695 


75,697 


1,020,122 


635,858 


730,077 


32,717 


1,0.55,.382 


562,565 


462,008 


689,141 


978.357 


858,999 


224,949 


166,473 


21,911,927 


450,352 


3,584,805 


87,511 


2,146,736 


45,668 


3.768.472 


57,879 


2,072,884 


21,005 



States and Territories 



Wisconsin .... 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 
North Dakota. 
South Dakota. 

Nebraska 

Kansas 



South Central Division. 



Kentucky. . 
Tennessee . . 
Alabama. . . 
Mississippi. 
Louisiana. . . 

Texas 

Oklahoma.. 
Arkansas. . . 



Western Division. 



Montana 

Wj'ouiing 

Colorado 

New Mexico. 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho ... 

Washington . 

Oregon 

California 



White 



1,680,473 
1,296,159 
1,901,086 
2.528.458 
182,123 
327,290 
1,046,888 
1,376,553 

7,487,576 



1,. '590,462 

1,336,63' 

833,718 

.544,851 

558,395 

1.745,935 

58,826 

818,752 

2.870,257 



127,271 

.59,275 

404,468 

142,719 

.55,.580 

205.899 

39,084 

82,018 

340,513 

301,7.58 

1,111,672 



Colored 



6,407 

5,667 

10,810 

150,726 

,596 

1,518 

12,022 

50,543 

3,485,317 



268,173 
430,881 
679,299 
744,749 
.560,192 
489,588 
3,008 
309,427 

157,356 



4,888 
1,4.30 
7,730 
10,874 
4.040 
2,006 
6,677 
2,367 
8,877 
12,009 
96,458 



The maps on Plate 8, facing page 96, give the number of col- 
ored persons to a square mile in each state, in 1890, and also 
tlie proportion of colored to total population. 

In the South Atlantic and South Central states are found no 
less than 88 per cent., or seven-eighths of the entire coloi'ed ele- 
ment of the country. In these states, as a whole, the colored 
form very nearly one-third of the entire population, while in 
several of them they greatly exceed this proportion. In Louis- 
iana they constitute just about one-half the inhabitants, and in 
Mississippi and South Carolina, nearly three-fifths of the popu- 
lation are colored. In every state on the Atlantic and Gulf 
coast, from Virginia to Louisiana, more than one-third of the 
inhabitants are colored. 

The following table shows the proportion, expressed in per- 
centages, of the colored element to the total population at each 
census in the southern states, where it is of importance: 



96 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PERCENTAGE OP COLORED {a) TO TOTAL POPULATION 



States and Territories 



South Atlantic Division. . . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

District of Columbia. . 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 



South Central Division 



Kentucky . . 
Tennessee. . 
AlaJbama . . . 
Mississippi . 
Louisiana . . 

Texas 

Oklahoma . 
Arkansas. .. 



1890 



36.83 



31.71 



14.42 
24.. 37 
44.84 
57.58 
49.99 
21.84 
4.81 
27.40 



;«.7l 



.33.78 



1870 



37.8'; 



1800 



38.3^ 



34.25 



16.46 

47.53 
57.47 
51.46 
24.71 



26.25 



10.82 
25.61 
47.69 
.53.65 
50.10 
.30.97 



25.22 



35.34 



20.44 
25.. 50 
45.40 
55.28 
49.49 
:».2' 



25.55 



1850 



39.71 



34.65 



22.49 
24.. 52 
44.73 
51.24 
,50.65 
27.54 



22.73 



1840 



34.53 



24.. 31 
22.74 
43.26 
52.33 
.55.04 



20.91 



30.08 



1820 



41.60 



24.01 
36.12 
31.55 
43.38 



34.38 

.52.77 
44.41 



27.20 



1810 



40.41 



23.82 

38.22 

m.07 

43.41 



32.24 
48.40 
42.40 



20.24 
17.52 



42.94 
55.18 



1800 



.37.60 



17.49 



18.. 59 
13.16 



1790 



.36.37 



21.64 
34.74 



40.86 



26.81 
43.72 
35.93 



14.92 



17.03 
10.59 



a Persons of African descent only. 



In the Soath Atlantic states tlie colored race comprised in 
1790, 36.3Y per cent., and a century later it formed 36.87 per 
cent, of the entire population, the proportion at the beginning 
and ending of the century being almost identical. During this 
period, however, it has oscillated within wide limits, increasing 
up to 1830, when it was 41.95 per cent., and then diminishing 
to its present proportion. In the South Central states, on the 
other hand, the proportion at the beginning of the century was 
small, for the reason that these states were first settled mainly 
by whites. As their settlement progressed, however, the pro- 
portion of colored people increased, reaching its maximum in 
1860, when it was 35.36 per cent. From that time it has dimin- 
ished, and now stands at 31.76. Taking the south as a whole, 
the proportion of the colored element increased up to 1810 or 
1850, while since that date it has diminished. 

The above statement regarding these groups of states, holds 
good in the case of individual states. Thus in Delaware the 
proportion of the colored element increased up to 1840 and then 
diminished. In Maryland the maximum was reached in 1810, 
and during the past eighty years there has been a proportional 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 8 




NUMBER OF COLORED PERSONS TO A SQUARE MILE IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF COLORED TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



POPULATION 97 

diminution. The colored element of the District of Columbia 
also reached a maximum proportion in 1810, and from that point 
diminished until the opening of the civil war. During the war 
the colored j)eople flocked to the capital for protection, and the 
proportion increased until it reached about one-third of the entire 
populaticjn. For the |)ast twenty years it has continued to hold 
practically this proportion. In Virginia the maximum was 
reached in 1820 and has since diminished. In Kentucky the 
maximum was reached in 1840. All these are border states, 
and all show a similar history. 

In the states farther south, the proportion of the colored 
population continued to increase until a much more recent 
date. Thus, in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Ten- 
nessee, it inci'eased until 1880, and only during the past decade 
has the proportion suffered any diminution. In Alabama the 
corner was turned in 1870, while in Mississippi and Arkansas 
the proportion has continued to increase to the present time. In 
Louisiana tne maximum was reached in 1880. In Texas and 
Florida, which have received within the past twenty years con- 
siderable immigration, both from the north and from foreign 
countries, the proportion of the colored race has notably dimin- 
ished. 

The table and the foregoing statements show that there has 
been a perceptible southward movement of the colored race. 
This movement was pointed out long ago by Judge Tourgee, in 
his " Appeal to Caesar ; " but he greatly exaggerated its extent, 
and failed to take into account the fact that the rate of increase 
of the race as a whole was much less than that of the whites, 
which is a vital point. Indeed, the greater rate of increase of 
the whites has overcome the increase of blacks, not only in the 
border states, but also in the southern states where this massing 
Is taking place. 

The following table gives the proportion of the entire colored 
element which at each census was contained in each of the five 
divisions of the country, and serves to emphasize still more 
strongly what has been previously pointed out — that an increase 
is found only in the far southern states, and that the main move- 
ment of that element has been southward: 



98 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PROPORTION OF THE COLORED ELEMENT AT EACH CENSUS 



Census Years 


North Atlantic 
Division 


Soutli Atlantic 
Division 


Nortli Central 
Division 


South Central 
Division 


Western 
Division 


1890 

1880 


3.66 
3.46 
3.65 
3.46 
4.12 
4.95 
5.38 
6.25 
7.42 
8.29 
8.90 


42.75 
43.59 
44.65 
45.56 
51.14 
55.59 
65.67 
71.88 
78 45 
85.79 
88.94 


5.90 
5.96 
5.69 
4.35 
3.73 
3.41 
1.78 
1.03 
0.51 
0.07 


45.63 
44.69 
44.40 
45.12 
40.98 
36.35 
27.17 
20.84 
13.62 
5.85 
2.16 


2.06 
2.30 


1870 

1860 


1.61 
1.51 


1850 


0.03 


1840 

1830 




1820 




1810 




1800 




1790 









THE CHINESE 



The immigration of Chinese commenced in 1S54, and con- 
timied with an annual average of 4,000 to 5,000 for fifteen years. 
About 1869 or 1870, the annual increase became more rapid> 
and aroused considerable alarm, especially upon the Pacific 
coast. The agitation thus produced brought about the passage 
in 1882 of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which has practically 
put a stop to the immigration of that element. 

The total number of Chinese immigrants from the beginning 
was 290,655. The following figures show the number of Chinese 
found in the country at the date of each census: 

THE CHINESE POPULATION, BY DECADES 

1850 758 

1860 35,565 

1870 63,042 

1880 104,468 

1890 100.462 

As will be seen, the number increased with considerable 
rapidity up to 1880. Since that time the increase has been 
only about two thousand, showing that the Exclusion Act has 
practically put a stop to their immigration. 

In 1880 the Chinese were contained almost entirely in Cali- 
fornia and Nevada, with a few in the other Pacific coast states. 



POPULATION 99 

In 1S90, while the great majority of them were still living upon 
tije coast, they were much more scattered, some being found in 
nearly every state in the Union. 



THE INDIANS 

When the whites settled upon the Atlantic coast, they found 
the country sparsely inhabited by red men. It is impossible to 
estimate the number who lived at that time within the present 
limits of the United States. They were formerly supposed to 
have been extremely numerous, but recent investigations have 
indicated that their number was probably never much larger 
than at present. They were for the most part nomadic, but 
their ranges were limited by the confines of neighboring hostile 
tribes. Certain of them were sedentary, such as the Moki and 
Pueblo Indians. They were grouped in tribes, differing widely 
in numbers and in power. Socially their status ranged from 
savagery to barbarism. 

Intertribal wars were frequent. Although it is scarcely fair 
to say that the normal condition of the Indians was one of 
warfare, still their code of morals reflected that condition very 
forcibly. For instance, it was regarded as right to steal from 
or to kill a member of a neighboring tribe, while similar offences 
against members of their own tribe were wrong. 

The Indian tribes of this country may be broadly divided, 
according to language, into the following classes: Algonquin, 
Iroquois, Muskogee, Sioux, Caddo, Kiowa, Shoshone, Athabas- 
can, Yuma, and Pima, besides numerous smaller subdivisions 
which it is not necessary to enumerate. Of these the Algon- 
quins inhabited New England and the northeastern part of the 
Mississippi Valley. The Iroquois, or the Six Nations, ranged 
over New York, much of Pennsylvania, and the southern Appa- 
lachian region. The Muskogees, including the Cherokees and 
Creeks, occupied the Gulf states east of the Mississippi. 

The Sioux, including the Dakotas, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, 
ranged over the Great Plains. The Caddoes were found mainly 
in eastern Texas ; while the Shoshones, including the tribe of 



100 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

that name, the Bannocks, and other allied tribes, were scattered 
over the Great Basin, Colorado, and central Texas. A branch 
of 'the Athabascans, who are mainly northern Indians, was 
found far from the bodj" of this stock, in Arizona, New Mexico, 
and western Texas, where they are known to-day as Apaches. 
The Pinias are found in southern Arizona, the Yumas in western 
Arizona and southern California, and the Kiowas in southern 
Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming. 

As the whites have spread over the country, the advancing 
wave of civilization has driven these Indians westward before 
its front, so that to-day most of them are found far from their 
original homes. 

Treatiuent of the Indians. — The policy of the govern- 
ment toward the Indian tribes, as a rule, has been that of a 
protectorate. It has treated with the tribes as one power might 
with another under its jurisdiction. As land has been required 
for the use of settlers, the government has, in most cases, pur- 
chased it from the tribes, the payments commonly taking the 
form of annuities. In this way the Indians have been gradu- 
ally dispossessed of the enormous areas over which they formerly 
ranged, and now such of them as still remain under tribal 
organizations are confined to reservations. 

The Indian population of the United States in 1890, as 
appears from the returns of the census, was 2-19,273. There 
were then living upon reservations 216,706 Indians. The reser- 
vations have a total area of 98,145,788 acres, thus giving to 
each Indian about 450 acres. Of the Indians upon reservations, 
133,382, or nearly two-thirds, are supported wholly or partially 
by the general government. The remainder, while under the 
control of the government, are self-supporting, and all are self- 
governing. 

First in importance of those not supported by the government 
are what are known as the five civilized tribes — namelj', the 
Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles — com- 
prising a total number of 52.065, who occupy reservations which 
practically comprise Indian territcn-y. These Indians have made 
great progress in civilization. Most of them are educated, live 
in houses, and maintain forms of government quite similar 



POPULATION 101 

to those of states. There are also the Pueblos of New Mexico, 
numbering 8,278 ; the remnant of the Six Nations now living 
on reservations in New York, and now numbering 5,304; 
and the Cherokees of North Carolina, numbering 2,885. The 
latter are located upon a reservation in a mountainous sec- 
tion of the state, where thej have reached a degree of civili- 
zation that compares favorably with that of the neighboring 
whites. 

For the support of Indians during the year 1892, the general 
government appropriated tlie sum of $11,150,578, equivalent to 
about $84 per head of those supported. 

The work of civilizing the Indians has been greatly ham- 
pered by this policy of supporting them, and thus removing 
all incentive to labor. Indeed, those who have had their 
wants supplied have made little or no advance in civilization. 
Such progress as has been made has been confined almost 
entirely to the Indians who have had little or no assistance 
from the government, but have been thrown upon their own 
resources. 

Indeed, the history of the Indians who have been fed and 
clothed by the government, forms a striking illustration of the 
probable effect upon mankind of the application of the Bellamy 
theories. The situation is precisely such as Mr. Bellamy advo- 
cates — every man entitled to support from the State and receiv- 
ing it. There is little likelihood that the white man, under 
similar circumstances, would behave better than the red man 
has done. 

Within the last few years the policy in regard to ration 
Indians — the name applied to those supported by the govern- 
ment — has been so modified, in the case of a number of tribes, 
that lands have been allotted in severalty, and rations have been 
issued only to those Indians who work the land, thus giving 
them a motive for working. Altogether the outlook for the 
civilization of the Indians is brighter at present than ever 
befora 



102 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



NATIVITY 

It has often been stated that the strongest and most virile 
nations are the composite ones, those made up from a mixture 
of blood. If this be true, we should easily distance all others, 
ancient or modern, since the blood of immigrants from every 
countrj^ of Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, to say 
nothing of the negroes, Chiuese, and Indians within our borders, 
bids fair to make of us the most thoroughly composite nation 
that ever existed. 

Of a total population of 62,622,250, the eleventh census 
reported that 9,249,547 were of foreign, and 53,372,703 of native 
birth. Of the persons of native birth 7,638,360 were colored, 
including those of African blood, Chinese, Japanese, and " con- 
stitutional Indians," leaving as native whites 45,862,023. The 
following table shows the nativity of the population at each 
census since and including that of 1850 : 

NATIVITY OP THE POPULATION, 1850 TO 1890 



Census Years 


Native 


Native White 


Foreign 


1850 


20.947,274 
27,304,624 
32,991.142 
40,475,840 
53,372,703 


17,273,804 
22,862,794 
28,111,133 
36,895,047 
45,862,023 


2,244,602 


I860 


4,138,697 


1870 

1880 

1890 


5,567,229 
6,679,943 
9,249,547 





In the next table are given the proportions which each of these 
elements of the population bore to the total at each census : 



RATIO OF NATIVE AND FOREIGN POPULATION, 1850 TO 1890 



Census Years 


Native 


Native White 


Foreign 


1850 


90.32 
86.84 
85.56 
86.68 
85.23 


73.24 
78.46 
72.91 
73.56 
73.24 


9.68 


1860 


13.16 


1870 


14.44 


1880 


13.32 


1890 


14.77 







POPULATION 103 

Thus it appears that the proportion of foreign birth, which 
was 9.68 per cent, of the population in 1850, rose in ten years to 
13.16 per cent., and since then has more than retained this pro- 
portion, being in 1890 14.77 per cent. 

IMMIGRATION 

During the early decades of our history immigration was 
slight. The attractions offered to Europeans were not suffi- 
ciently great at that early stage of our development to induce 
them to undergo the expense and hardships of a voyage across 
the Atlantic. Prior to 1820 immigration was trifling in amount, 
and it was not until the succession of famines in Ireland, between 
1840 and 1860, coupled with political troubles in Germany, that 
immigration upon a large scale set in. During the past forty or 
forty-five years, however, there has been a migration of peoples 
across the Atlantic to these shores, the equal of which in an}^ 
quarter the world had probably never seen before. Immigra- 
tion statistics were first obtained in 1820, and have been kept 
continuously since that time. The total number of immigrants 
in the seventy years which have since elapsed is not less than 
15,376,986. The following table shows the accessions to its pop- 
ulation by immigration which this country has received in each 
ten year period since 1820 : 

IMMIGRATION, 1821 TO 1890, BY DECADES 

1831-1830 143,439 

1831-1840 599,125 

1841-1850 1,713,251 

1851-1860 2,579,580 

1861-1870 2,282,787 

1871-1880 2;812,191 

1881-1890 5,246,613 

Total 15,376,986 

Of this enormous number it will be seen that more than one- 
third have arrived during the past ten years, almost double the 
number which came between 1870 and 1880, and more than 
double that of any preceding decade. The next table shows 



104 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



the immigratiou, by decades, fi'oin the countries wbeace it was 
mainly derived: 



PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE IMMIGRATION 



Xationai.ity 


1821 
to 
18:i0 


18ol 
to 
1840 


1841 
to 
1850 


1851 

to 

18(i0 


1861 
to 
1870 


1871 
to 
1880 


1881 
to 
1890 


Canada 

Iivlanil 

b Eiiijlaiul and Wales 


2.277 

.50]724 

32.167 

2.912 

91 

169 

91 


13.624 

307.381 

73.143 

2.667 

1,201 

1,06:3 

646 


41,723 

780,719 

363,:i;« 

3.712 

13.<X)3 

5:^9 

656 


59,309 

914.119 

385,643 

38.331 

20.931 

3,749 

1.621 


153,872 

435.778 

568.128 

38.769 

109,298 

17.094 

4.5.36 

7,800 

11,738 

787.468 

35,984 

9,103 


;^,269 

436.8n 

460,479 

87.5W 

211.245 

31.771 

52.2.54 

72.1Hi!l 

55.;. 51.1 

718.1S2 

73.306 

16,541 


392,802rt 
655,482 
657.488 
149.869 


Norway and Sweden 


568.362 


Denmark 


88.133 
265.088 




:^53.719 


Itoly..." 

Germany 

Franco .". 

Netherlands 


4lW 
6.761 
8.497 
1.078 


153.4i>{ 

45,575 

1,412 


1.870 

434.626 

77,363 

8,251 


9.2;il 

951,667 

76,358 

10,789 


307.309 

1.4.52.it70 

50.464 

53,701 



a Five years only. 



b Including Great Britain, not specified. 



Fi'ora this it appears that, of tlie total immigration, 40.5 per 
cent,, or more than two-tifths, have been derived from the United 
Kino-dom, the maioritv of which came from IreLand, and 2S.3 
per cent, from Germany. The United Kingdom and Germany 
together have supplied over two-thirds of the entire immigra- 
tion to the United States, while the other countries have sev- 
erally contributed but a trifling proportion. 

The character of the immigration has changed greatl}" since 
the beginning. In the late forties and early fifties it was mainly 
composed of Irish. Later the German element assumed promi- 
nence; while in recent years, mainly during the past decade, 
other and far less desirable elements have increased with great 
rapiditv. Thus it will be seen by the table that nearly all the 
Ilnngarians, Italians, Kussians, and Poles have ai-rived since 
1S80. This unpleasant picture is relieved to some extent by 
the immigration of Norwegians and Swedes, than whom no 
more desirable element has joined us; but altogether the changes 
wrought in the character of the foreign influx during the past 
ten or fifteen years have tended to lower the standard of Ameri- 
can citizenship, and to make it a serious question whether steps 
should not be takeu to limit immigration henceforth. 

The diagram on page 106 is interesting as showing by compan- 



POPULATION 



105 



son the constituents of the total immigration and the immigration 
between 1880 and 1890. 

Distribution of tlie Foreign Born. — The maps on 
J'late 9, facing page 106, portray the distribution of the foreign 
born over the country, expressed in the number to a square mile 
and in percentages of the total population, state by state. It 
will be seen that the home of this element is in the north and 
west. The foreign born have never invaded the south to com- 
pete in labor with the colored element. Indeed, the northern 
and western states are found to contain no less than ninety-six 
per cent, of the entire foreign born element of the country. 

The following table shows the number of native and foreign 
born, by states and groups of states, in 1S90: 

NATIVE AND FOREIGN BORN POPULATION IN 1890 



States and 
Territories 



The United States., 



North Atlantic Division. 

Maine 

New Hampsliiii' . . . . 

Vermont 

Massaeiuisetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

South Atlantic Division. 

Delaware . . 

Maryland 

District of Columbia 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

North Central Division. 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 



Native 


Foreign | 


53,372,703 


9,249,547 


1.3,513,461 


3,888,084 


582,125 


78,961 


.304,190 


72,340 


288,3;J4 


44,088 


1,. 581, 806 


6.57.107 


239,201 


106,365 


562,7.50 


183,.508 


4,426,803 


1,.571,050 


1,11.5,9.58 


328,975 


4,412,294 


845,720, 


8,649,414 


208,.506 


155,332 


13,161 1 


948,094 


94,296, 


211,622 


18,770 


1,637.606 


18,374 1 


743,911 


18,883 


1,614,245 


3,702 


1,144,879 


6,270 


1,825,235 


12,118 


368,490 


22,9.32 


18,303.053 


4,059,226 


3,213,023 


459,293 


2,046,199 


146,205 


2,984,892 


841,459 


1,550,009 


543,880 



States and 
Territories 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 

Kansas 

South Central Division 

Kentucky 

Tennessee . 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Oklahoma 

Arkansas 

Western Division 

Montana 

Wyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 

California 



Native 



1,167,681 
8:W,470 

1,. 587,82 

2,444,315 
101,258 
237,753 
856,368 

1,279,2.58 

10,(i51,085 



1,799,279 
1,747,489 
1,498,240 
1,281,64« 
1 ,068,8.53 
2,082,56 
59,094 
1,113,915 

2,856,703 



89,063 
45,792 
.328,208 
142,334 
40,825 
1.54,841 
31,0.55 
66,929 
2.59,.385 
2,56,4.50 
841.821 



Foreign 



.519.199 

4fi7,356 
324,069 
234,K69 
81,461 
91.0.55 
202.542 
147,8138 

321,808 



59,3.56 
20,029 
14,777 

7,9.52 
49,7;}4 
152,956 

2,740 
14,264 

770,910 



43,096 
14.913 
83,990 
11.259 
18,795 
.5:3.064 
14,706 
17,4.56 
90.005 
57,317 
366,309 



The next table gives the proportion which these elements bore 
to the total population, by states and groups of states, in 1890 : 



106 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PERCENTAGE OP NATIVE AND FOREIGN BORN TO TOTAL 
POPULATION, 1890 



States and Territories 



The United States 



North Atlantic Division. 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts. .. 
Rhode Ishmd . . 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania... 



Soutli Atlantic Division. 



Delaware 

Marvland...' 

District of Columbia 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina .... 

Georgia 

Florida 



North Central Division . 



Ohio , 

Indiana . . 
Illinois , . . 
Michigan. 



1890 



Native 



85.23 



77.66 



Foreign 



06 
79 
74 
65 
,23 
.40 
.81 
77.23 
83.92 

97.65 

92.19 
90.95 
91.85 
98.89 
97.52 
99.77 
99.46 
99.34 
94.14 

81.84 



14.7'; 



87.49 
93.33 
77.99 
74.03 



22.34 



11.94 
19.21 
13.26 
29.35 
30.77 
24.60 
26.19 
22.77 
16!08 

2.35 

7.81 
9.05 
8.15 
1.11 
2.48 
0.23 
0..'>4 
0.66 
5.86 

18.16 



12.51 

6.67 

22.01 

25.97 



States and Territories 



Wisconsin 
Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 
North Dakota 
South Dakota 
Nebraska .... 
Kansas 




Montima 
Wyoming 
Colorado 
New Mex 
Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho ... . 
Washington 

Oregon 

California 



RUSSIA & POLAND 

FRANCE 

ITALY 

AUSTRIAHUN6ARY 

NORWAY, SWEDEN 
& DENMARK 

GREAT BRITAIN 
IRELAND 
GERMANY 




THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 9 




NUMBER OF FOREIGN BORN TO A SQUARE MILE IN 189D 




PROPORTION OF FOREIGN BORN TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



POPULATION 



107 



This table shows also the distribution of the foreign born 
element. In the North Atlantic states nearly one-fourth of the 
inhabitants are of foreign birth; the proportion ranging among 
the states, individually, from 11.90 per cent, in Maine to 30.69 
per cent, in Rhode Island, while Massachusetts has 29.19 per 
cent., and in Connecticut and New York about one-fourth of 
the inhabitants are of foreign birth. 

In the Noi'th Central states the proportion of the foreign 
born is 18.13, while in individual states the range is very wide, 
extending from QASQ per cent, in Indiana to 44.52 per cent, in 
North Dakota. More than a third of the inhabitants of Minnesota 
are of foreign birth, and nearly one-third of those of Wisconsin, 
while in Michigan and South Dakota more than a fourth are 
foreign born. 

In the Western states, as a whole, the proportion of the for- 
eign born is 22.22, ranging in individual states from 7.07 in 
New Mexico, to 30.52 in Montana. In many of these states the 
proportion of foreign born is not far from one-fourth. 

The South Atlantic states, on the other hand, contain an 
average of but 2.2S per cent, of foreign born, and the South Cen- 
tral states but 2.90 per cent. The state having the smallest 
proportion of inhabitants of foreign birth is North Carolina, 
where it is but 0.23 of one per cent., or about one person in four 
hundred. 

The following table shows the percentage of the whole foreign 
element in each of these five groups of states, at each census: 



PERCENTAGE OE^ THE FOREIGN ELEMENT, 1850-1890 



Censtis Year 


North 
Atlantic 
Division 


Soutli 
Atlantic 
Division 


North 
Cwitral 
Division 


South 
Ccntial 
Division 


Western 
Division 


1890 


42.04 
42.13 

45.28 
48.90 
59.06 


2.25 
2!61 
3.00 
3.93 

4.67 


43 . 90 
43 07 
41.90 
37.29 
28.98 


3.48 
4.10 
4.19 
. 5.55 
6.09 


8 33 


1880 


7 49 


1870 


5 G3 


1860 


4.33 


1850 


1.20 







It appears from this table tbat the Northeastern and North 
Central states contained in 1890 not less than 85.94 per cent, of 



108 THE BUILDINO OF A NATION 

the entire foreign element, and adding the Western states and 
territories, 96,27 per cent, are accounted for, leaving only about 
one-twenty-fifth of the entire foreign element for the Southern 
states. 

Coiistitiioiits of tlie Foreigii Born Element. — What 
are the principal nativities composing this element of the foreign 
born? First and foremost are the Germans, numbering nearly 
three millions, or thirty per cent, of all. Next in order are the 
natives of Ireland, numbering nearly two millions, and consti- 
tuting one-fifth of the entire number. Then come the British 
with a million and a quarter, followed by the natives of Canada 
and of the Scandinavian countries, with nearly a million each. 
The ]5ritish, Irish, and Canadiaus together number four and 
one-tenth millions, constituting about two-fifths of the entire 
element of foreign birth. These, with the Germans and Scan- 
dinavians, constitute not less than five-sixths of the foreign 
born. 

From these imposing figures there is a sudden drop to 
the Italians and Russians, each of whom number about one 
hundred and eighty-two thousand, the Poles one hundred and 
forty-seven thousand, and so on. The exact data as to these and 
all other nationalities of importance, are set forth in the follow- 
ing table, and graphically in the diagram on page 109, showing 
the nativities of the foreign born population in 1890. 

FOREIGN BORN BY PRINCIPAL NATIONALITIES, 1890 

Germany 2,784.894 

Ireland 1,871,468 

Ensxland, Scotland, and Wales 1,251 ,397 

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark 933,249 

Canada and Newfoundland 980,941 

Italy 182,580 

Russia 182,045 

Poland 147,440 

Austria 123,271 

Bohemia 118,106 

France 113,174 

Switzerland 104,069 

China 100,462 

Hungary 62,435 



POPULATION 



109 



HUNGARIANS 
SWISS 
FRENCH 
BOHEMIANS 
DANES 
POLES 
ITALIANS 

RUSSIANS 

SWEDES 
NORWEGIANS 

CANADIANS 

BRITISH 

IRISH 

GERMANS 


1 

■ 

■ 

1 
1 
1 

1 
■ 


1 
1 
1 

1 
I 
1 
















■ 


p 

■ 


R 

F 

■ 


N 
O 

1 


c 

FIE 

■ 


P 


Al 

2^ 


. CONSTITUENTS 

OF THE 
1 BORN IN 1890 












■ 


■ 


■ 


1 




■ 


■ 


■ 






■ 


. 


■1 




■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 






■ 


■ 


■ 


J 




■ 
■ 


■ 
■ 


■ ■ 


■ 
■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


, 


■ 


■ 




■ 


■ 


1 
■ 


■ 




■ 


■ 


■ 
■ 


T 

J. 


■ 
■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 
■ 


■ 


■ 
■ 


■ 


■ 
■ 


1 


■ 






1 



1 


■ 


1 


1 


1 


1 


■ 


■^ 




■ 

1 r 


MNoj. 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■ 


f 


■ 


1 


■ 




■ 









History of the Several Elements.— What has been 
the history of these several nativities of the foreign element 
in the past? This is summarized in the tersest possible form 
by the following table, and is also graphically presented in the 
diagrams, Plate 10, facing page 110. In the table the strength of 
the delegation from each country is represented by the propor- 
tion which its numbers bore to the total population at each 
census from 1850 to 1890. 

In the diagram the total number of the foreign born at each 
census is represented by the area of the circle, while the number 
of each nationality is represented by the various sectors into 
which it is divided. 



110 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PERCENTAGES OF TOTAL POPULATION 





1850 

1.63 
4.15 
3.52 
.23 
.64 
.08 
.01 

".hh 


1800 


1870 

1.99 

4.81 

4.38 

.30 

1.38 

.63 

.04 

.01 

.03 

.08 

.10 

.20 

.17 


1880 


1890 


Great Brittain 

Ireland 


1.87 
5.12 
4.06 
.35 
.79 
.23 
.03 
.01 
.02 
.08 

'!i7 

.11 


1.83 

3.70 

3.92 

.21 

1.43 

.88 

.09 

.07 

.10 

.08 

.17 

.17 

.31 


3.00 
3.00 


Germany 


4.45 


France 


.18 


Canada 


1.56 


Norway. Sweden, and Denmark 
Italy..! ... 


1.49 
.29 
.29 


Poland 


.23 


Austria 


.20 


Bohemia 

Switzerland 


.19 

.17 


China 


.17 


Hungary .... 


.10 







In 1850 two-fifths of the entire foreign element was composed 
of Irish, which far ontnnmbered any other nationality ; Germany 
was second and Great Britain third ; while of the nationalities of 
southern Europe now coming hither in considerable and rapidly 
increasing numbers, there were practically none at that time. 

In 1860, while Ireland still held the lead, Germany had nar- 
rowed the gap between them considerably ; the proportion of 
British had increased also; while generally those nations whose 
contributions were small had increased in numbers, such as 
France, British America, and the Scandinavian countries. At 
this time natives of Russia, Poland, and Austria first appeared; 
and the Italians, who in 1850 were present in trifling numbers, 
had trebled proportionally in i860. 

In 1870 the Irish still occupied the leading position, but 
Germany had yet further narrowed the gap between them ; the 
British had also gained slightly, while the Canadians and Scan- 
dinavians had increased their numbers greatly ; the colonists 
from southern Europe liad made little progress, scarcely more 
than holding their proportion. 

In 1880 the Germans and Irish had changed positions, the 
Germans becoming the leading nationality ; the British had 
slightly lost in proportion ; the Canadians and Scandinavians 
had gained somewhat; while the Italians, Russians, Poles, and 
Bohemians had made great proportional gains. 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 10 

loon 1840 






Nathe White- _ _ I I 

Colored .^HHI Natiue White of Foreign Parents I j 

Foreign Born \ 



tmu't^-.-^'il Natim White of Natiue Parents Ia^=i55s| 

ELEMENTS OF THE POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS 



1890 



1860 



1850 








Irish I?Kf=^J British L '^.'"J Scandinaulan . ^ 

German i 



- — I I Canadian | 1 Other Foreign Countri^;s_^t 

NATIONALITIES OF THE FOREIGN BORN, 1850 TO 1890 



POPULATION 111 

In 1890 the Germans had widened the gap between their 
proportion and that of the Irish, their total being nearly fifty 
per cent, greater, while the proportion of the Irish had greatly 
declined from its maximum in 1860 ; the British and Cana- 
dians had gained slightly ; while the Scandinavians had nearly 
doubled their proportion, and the Italians, Poles, and Austrians 
had trebled their proportion to the total population. In this 
census the Hungarians appeared in small numbers. 

How are the people of these different nationalities distributed 
over the country? The series of maps. Plates 11, 12, and 13, 
facing page 112, shows this distribution of the British, Germans 
and Austrians, Canadians, Irisli, and Scandinavians, expressed 
in the form of a proportion between their numbers and the total 
population of the various states. It is shown also in the table on 
page 112, which presents the proportion that the number of each 
of these leading nationalities bears to the total number of the 
foreign born in each of the northern and western states, and in 
each group thereof, where the foreign born are of numerical 
importance. 

From this table it will be seen that the Canadians form 
nearly two-thirds of the foreign element of Maine and New 
Hampshire, more than half that of Vermont, and nearly a third 
that of Massachusetts. In Michigan they form a third of the 
foreign born, and more than one-fourth that of North Dakota. 

The Irish are not so concentrated. In no state do they con- 
stitute half the foreign element. The proportion is largest in 
Conuecticut. In that state, and also in Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island, they number more than a third of the foreign born, and 
in New York and New Jersey they approach one- third. 

The British are still more widely scattered. In none of the 
northern states do they constitute even one-fourth of the foreign 
element. Their highest proportion is in Ehode Island and 
Pennsylvania. 

The Germans occupy the North Central states in force. In 
Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri, they outnumber all 
other elements. In New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Iowa, 
Nebraska, and Kansas, they form between one-third and one- 
half of the foreign element. 



112 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PROPORTION OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES TO THE TOTAL 
FOREIGN POPULATION IN 1890 



States and Territories 


Canadians 


Irish 


English, 

Scotch, 

and Welsh 


GerinaniS 

and 
Anstrians 


Norwegians. 

Swedes, 
and Danes 


The United States 


10.61 


20.23 


13.52 


33.73 


10.09 


North Atlantic Division . 


12.61 


31.92 


15 88 


25.93 


3.06 


Maine 


65.96 

64.04 

56.72 

31.59 

26.27 

11.56 

5.93 

1.43 

1.44 

9.89 


14.49 
20.59 
22.25 
39.55 
36.61 
42 42 
80.76 
30.73 
28.83 

10.68 


12.39 
9.33 
14.08 
15.21 
24.54 
14.82 
11.96 
17.64 
23.12 

10.55 


1.56 

2.50 

2.35 

4.74 

3.48 

16.69 

35.21 

37.57 

30.93 

43.91 


3.44 


New Hampshire . . . 

Vermont 

]\Iassachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 


2.11 
2.19 
3.45 
3.60 
6.55 


New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

North Central Division . . 


3.75 
2.57 
2.79 

17.47 


Ohio 

Indiana. 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 


3.60 
3.39 
4.69 
33.35 
6.39 
9.32 
5 39 


15.27 

14 24 

14.78 

7.18 

6.42 

5.99 

11.52 

17.44 

3.64 

5.24 

7.88 

10.74 

13.69 


16.16 

10.29 

11.29 

12.55 

6.44 

4.61 

11.58 

10.70 

6.41 

8.11 

9.63 

17.67 

18.43 


55.37 
62.14 
43.48 
31.88 
54.51 
27.65 
43.97 
58.09 
12.09 
23.25 
39.88 
36.77 

19.64 


.92 
3.78 
15.31 
7.63 
19.31 
46.05 
23.48 


Missouri 


3.63 


3.18 


North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 


28.311 

10.43 

5.98 

8.04 

9.79 


43.01 
34.45 

22.89 


Kansas 


14.90 


Western Division ...... 


12.18 


Montana 

Wyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 


20.98 

8.81 

10.89 

6.05 

3.90 

2.30 

11.30 

10.26 

19.34 

11.27 

7.12 


15.43 

12.74 

14.71 

8 58 

6.23 

3.86 

17.99 

10.98 

8.67 

8.53 

17.24 


20.39 
33.95 
24.80 
16.13 
8.09 
50.46 
18.50 
26.07 
16.71 
14.47 
12.74 


16.67 
16.17 
23.15 
15.90 
7.83 
7.22 
14.57 
15.25 
20.43 
27.44 
20.85 


14.88 

15.98 

14.53 

2.18 

2.17 

31.79 

4.86 

20.08 

23.79 

12.80 


California 


6.11 



The Scandinavians are highly concentrated, being found 
mainly in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, and 



THE BUlLDlNd OF A NATION 
PLATE 1 1 




PROPORTION OF BRITISH TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF GERMANS AND AUSTRI ANS TO TOTAL POPULATION 

IN 1890 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 12 



^ T~~~»^ 












V \ ''is"'" 


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1 COLO. 


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NEBR. \ / 


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1ND.\ 1 


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W ILL. 

MO. \ 


KANS. 


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1 ^M. 
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OK LA. r' 
^ JiND. 
1 r^TEH. 


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TEXAS 


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^ 



PROPORTION OF CANADIANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF IRISH TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



TIIK I'.ril.hISC Oh' A .WATIOiS' 
PLATE 13 




PROPORTION OF SCANDINAVIANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF NATIVE WHITES OF NATIVE PARENTAGE TO ALL 

WHITES IN 1-190 



1 



POPULATION 113 

Nebraska. The highest proportion is in Minnesota, where 
they number not much less tban half the total foreign ele- 
ment. 

From the maj)S it will be seen that the Canadians are found 
mainly in northern New England, Michigan, Minnesota, and 
North Dakota, closely hugging the uorthern l^order. The Irish 
are settled mainly in New England and New York, compara- 
tively few having wandered westward. The Germans are 
found from New York westward, and in the greatest body in 
Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Scandinavians have 
settled as far north as they could and yet remain within our 
jurisdiction, principally in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Da- 
kotas; while the British are scattered widely over the northern 
states. 

These people are guided largely by temperature in the selec- 
tion of their homes. Those from northern Europe and Canada 
settle in the far north. The Germans, coming from a more tem- 
perate climate, have settled mainly south of them, as have also 
the Irish. 

The Foreijj^n Eh^ment in Cities. — What is the dis- 
tribution of the foreign element as between urban ami rural life? 
Generally speaking, the f(jreign population flocks to the cities 
in far greater proportion than the native born. In 1890 the 
twenty-eight largest cities of the country contained a population 
of about 9,700,000, or nearly 1.5 per cent, of the total population 
of the country. The foreign born element of these cities corn- 
prised a little over 3,000,000, or almost exactly one-third of the 
total foreign born of the country. Putting it in another way. 
nearly one-third of the population of these cities is foreign born, 
while in the country at large only about one-sixth of it is foreign 
born. These cities contain, therefore, double their quota of the 
foreign born element. 

Thus much concerning the foreign element of our cities, col- 
lectively. When analyzed, it presents results even more inter- 
esting. Not only are the foreign born as a class found in the 
large cities in undne proportion, but there is no contributing 
nationality of which this is not true. Every nationality repre- 
sented contributes an undue proportion of its numbers to swell 

e 



114 TIIK lU'TLDTXa OF A XATION 

our great cities. While but 14 percent of the native element 
of the countrv is found in these great cities, the Canadians con- 
tribute 10 per cent, of their number, the Norwegians, Swedes, 
and Danes 18 per ccnit., tlie British 2-1 per cent, the Germans 
89 per cent, the Irish -12 pei" cent, the Bohemians 4() ]ier cent, 
the Bok^s -49 jier cent., and the Italians and Bussians each 51 per 
cent. Thus moi-o iIkih half the whole nundHM* of the two last- 
named nationalities found in iho country are congregated in 
these twentv-eight cities. 

Hence it afipears that the most objecticMiable elements of the 
foi'cign-born j)opulation have Hocked in the greatest proportion 
to our large cities, where thev are in a position to do the most 
harm by corruittion and violence. 

In New York city alone an^ found 190,000 Irish, one-tentli of 
all in the United States; and 210,000 Germans, one-thirteenth 
of ;dl in the United States, It contains one-fifth of all the Bus- 
sians and more than one-fifth of all the Italians in the c^>untry. 
Over one-fourth of the total population of the metropolis is made 
up of persons born in Ireland or Germnny. 

In Chicago there are 100,000 Germans, constituting nearly 
one-sixth of the population of that city. It contains one-sixth 
of all the B(des and more than one-tifth of all the Bohemians 
of the country. C)ne-sixth of the population of ]>ostou is com- 
posetl of Irish, aiul more than one-fourth of the }>opulation of 
Milwaukee is of German birth. 

Ooc'iipatioiis of the Foreig:ii Bom. — As to occupa- 
tions, it may be stated broadly that the foreign born element is 
engaged in avocations lower in character than those of the 
native element, principally in such as involve skilkxl and 
unskilled labor ; whereas the [U'oportion in the learned profes- 
siiMis is mnch less relative to their numbers than is the case with 
the native element While in 1880 the foreign horn constituted 
about one-seventh of the population, it was fouml that of law- 
yei's, clergymen, physicians, and teachers, there were about 
eleven native born to one foreign born ; on the other hand, 
among servants there was one foreign born to a little uK^re than 
three native born. Among unskilled laborers, the foreign born 
were in the proportion of one to two native boru ; while of 



POPULATTON 115 

skillofl laborers, such as blacksmiths, shoemakers, and carpenters, 
the proportion was also as one to two, and foreign born miners 
exceeded in total number the native born. 

Illiteracy of tln^ Foi'cij^ii IJorii. — This flood of immi- 
gration has produce! otlior results upon tlio population beyond 
the mere additions to our numbers and tli',- admixture of blood. 
It has lowered the average intelligence and morality of the com- 
munity. The illiterate of the northern states arc mainly foreign 
born, the proportion of illiterates among them being four times 
as great as among the native!^. Again, tTic criminals of foreign 
birth in the northern states are double their duo pro])ortion, as 
compared with the native born. 

Effc'ct of liiiini^Tiiiioii upon Njitiiml Iiicrense. — 
Another result of importance has been produced. It is a well- 
known law of population, that in a broad, general way, as the 
population increases the rate of increase diminishes. This is un 
a|)plication of the Malthusian doctrine. Now, it matters not in 
the least how this density of population is brought about, 
whether by natural increase or by immigration, the result is the 
same — the country is fdled with people, they become more or 
less crowded, and the rate of natural increase is reduced 
thereby. 

The United States is composed of tv^o sections, the north and 
the south, which are sharply distinguished from one another in 
this regard. While the one of them has, throughout its history, 
depended upon natural increase for its increment of population, 
the other has had enormous accessions from abroad. What has 
been the history of the native element in these two sections, as 
contrasted with one another? 

This question is one of interest and importance. In order to 
answer it intelligently and conclusively, and also for the j>ur- 
j)ose of ascertaining approximately the effect of immigration 
uj)on our rate of increase in [)opulation, a comparison is made, 
in the diagram on page 116, between the rates of increase of 
the native and white elements of the northern and southern 
states respectively, for each decade, the u[)right bars at the 
bottom of the diagram showing the immigration from 1830 to 
1890. 



I 



116 



TIIK nrTLDING OF A NATION 




RATES OF INCREASE OF ALU WHITES 

AND OF THE 

NATIVE ELEMENT OF THE NORTH 

AND OF 

ALL WHITES OF THE SOUTH 



POPULATION 117 

The southern states — including in that designation all />f the 
states east of the plains and south of Mason and Dixon's line, 
the Ohio river, and the southern boundary of Missouri and 
Kansas — have received practically no immigration. The states 
north of this line and east of the plains contain 86 per cent, of 
the foreign element, the remainder Ixjing mainly in the states and 
territories of the far west. 

The rates of increase of the whites of the southern states, 
which are not complicated by immigration, are represented by 
the dotted line of the diagram; anfl, while exhibiting some oscil- 
lations, they show a general but not a great diminution from the 
beginning of our history to the end. Between 1790 and 1840 
the white population of these states increased 239 per cent. In 
other words, the population of 1840 was 3.39 times that of 1790. 
In the succeeding fifty years the population of these states 
increased 204 per cent.; that is, their population in 1890 was 
3.04 times as great as in 1840, the rate having thus diminished 
by only 35 per cent. On the other hand, how is it with the 
northern states? 

In the first fifty years, during which there was practicalh* no 
immigration, the rate of increase in each decade was considerably 
greater than in the southern states, and altogether during this 
half century the white [)opulation of these noi'thern states 
increased 389 per cent.; that is, in 1840 the population was 
4.89 times as great as in 1790. Between 1840 and 1890, after 
separating from the white jjopulation of these states the immi- 
grants and their natural increase, and thus leaving only the 
native element, the rate of increase of the latter is seen to 
diminish remarkably. Instead (jf ranging from 34 up to 41 per 
cent, as it did in the first half century, the rates of increase by 
decades become 23, 20, 15, 16, and 10; while the rate of increase 
for this entire half century was but 112 per cent., the population 
in 1890 being but 2.12 times as great as that of 1840. This 
sudden and astonishingly rapid reduction of the rate in the 
north, taking place at the same time with the appearance of the 
flood of immigration, can be attributed to no other cause. 

The rate of increase of the north is shown by the full line ; the 
broken line — which commences at 1840 and runs up to 1890 — 



118 Tin: nriLniso of a natiox 

iHMim tho rate of iiu'iwisr (*f the native clomont alone, wliilc the 
I'lill line, eontinuing on to 181H), represents the rate of inerease 
of tho cntiro pojnilation of the noi'th, inehuling the foreign 
element. 

llenee it is safe to eoneUule tiiat the i-ate of our natural 
inerease has been greatly reilueed bv the Hood of inunigration. 
Bv alk)wing the poor and tippressed of Kuro|>e \o tind homes in 
this eonntrv, we ha\e substituted iheni for owv own llesh and 
blood. If there had been no immigration, the rate o{ natural 
increase whieh }ire\ailed before immigration eonmuMieed would 
have been mneh nioi-e nearly maintained, and owv numbers 
would be almost as great as at present. The sudden and rapid 
reduetion oi owy rate of nauii'al inerease at the north during the 
past fortv vears is surelv due to this llood oi immigration, an<l 
it is a question whether we have gained by the wholesale substi- 
tution of a mixture of European for American bhxHb 

Another result has been produced by immigration wliieh is 
not so apparent, but is of great and far-reaehing importance 
in connection with this question. As has already been stated, 
the innnigration consists, as a rnle, of the lower classes, mainly 
of skilled and nnskillcd labor; and these millions of mechan- 
ies and laborers have tilled and praetieally monopolized the 
lower classes of avcK'ations at the north. In this way tbey 
forced the native Ameriean element into the higher walks of 
life. The head-work of the country is in the hands of Ameri- 
cans almost as fully as it was half a centui-y ago. Our industrial 
enterprises of all sorts arc under the management of Americans, 
and the hewing of wood and drawing i4" water have been assumed 
by the immigrant. The fact that the native is still the ruling 
element, probably accounts for the other fact that the foreign 
clement, in spite of its great numerical importance, has thus far 
exercised but little intlueuee upon our political, industrial, and 
social life. 

Foivi.U'ii l*aiVii(aj»:o. — The clfects o{ immigration npon 
our population are by no means eontined to the foreign born. 
Althongh to some extent Americanized, the children of the 
Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians retain many of their j>arents' 
characteristics; measurably they are Irish, Germans, and Scan- 






POJ'CLATION 119 

dinaviaris Htill. Tt is interesting, therefore, to observe to what 
extent oar population is eonij>os(;(J, not (;ri]y of the foreign born, 
but of the children of the foreign born. 

In 1870 statistics were obtained for the first time concerning 
th(; nativity of [)arents, and the results we-re tabulated and pub- 
lished, and in 1890 similar data were ohtained. In J 870 the 
numhcr of pf-rsons of foreign parentage, including those of for- 
eign };irth, was 11,892,015, The number of inhaldtants of 
native f-xtraction at this time was, therefore, 2f5,O^JO,.'JoO, and the 
number of whites of native extraction, 21,760,347, In 1890 the 
numbr;r oi persons whose parents were foreign born, was 20,26;i», 
902. The native born of native parents numbered 42,358,848, 
and of these the whites numbered 34,720,066. In 1870 the 
foreign boni, added to those of native birth but foreign par- 
entage, comprised practically all of the foreign blood in the 
country. Only twenty-two or twenty-three years had elapsed 
since immigration upon a considerable scale had commenced, 
and it is not at all probable that there were in the country any 
appreciaV)le number of [persons of foreign extraction in the 
second generation. Nearly all the remainder of the population 
had bee-n here for a series of generations, so long as to have 
})ecome distinctively American. Therefore, we may treat that 
element of oiii- population which in 1870 was of foreign parent- 
age, as com[jrising the entire element of foreign extraction. 

In 1890, forty-two or forty-three years after immigration 
began, the conditions were measurably changed. There were at 
that time, undoubtedly, a considerable number — probably quite 
5,000,000 — of persons of foreign extraction in the .second gen- 
eration. 

In 1870 this element of foreign extraction comprised 31 per 
cent, of the entire population, and in 1890 the same element 
comprised 32 percent. The element of native extraction in 1870 
comprised 69 per cent, and in 1890, 68 per cent. The whites of 
native extraction comprised, both in 1870 and 1890, 56 per cent, 
of the entire population, or considerably more than one-half. 

The distriVjution of the native born of native parentage, is 
illustrated in the lower map on Plate 13, facing page 112, and 
in the table on page 120. In the northern states east of the 



120 



THE BUILDINO OF A NATION 



plains, -45 per cent., or nearly onc-lialf of the inhabitants, are 
either foreign born or the children of foreigners. In Massachu- 
setts they aggregate 56 per cent. ; in Rhode Island, 58 percent. ; 
in Connecticut, 50 per cent.; in New York, 56 per cent. ; and in 
New Jersey, 48 per cent.; bnt the heaviest proportion is found 
in the northwestern states. In Wisconsin and Minnesota three- 
fonrths of tlie people are either foreign born or the children of 
foreign born, and in the new state of North Dakota four-fifths 
of the people are of iininediate foreign extraction ; only one- 
fifth of the inhabitants of the latter state are of American stock. 
The constituents of the population of states in 1890 are shown 
graphically by the diagram, Plate 14. 

PROPORTION OF WHITE POPULATION OF NATIVE AND 
FOREIGN PARENTAGE 





1890 


States and Tkkri- 

TOIllES 


1890 


States and Tkiuu- 

TOKIES 


Native 

Whites 

of Native 

Parents 


Having 

one or 

botli 

Parents 

Foreign 


Native 

Whites 

of Native 

Parents 


Having 
one or 
both 
Parents 
Foreign 


The UuiU'd Stiitos . . . 


l^r cent. 
62.49 


Per cent. 
37.51 


Wisconsin 


Per cent. 
25.86 
3:^.99 
55.97 
73.42 
20.55 
38.87 
56.76 
72.09 

88.97 


Per cent. 
74.14 

7(!.01 


North Atlantic nivisioii.. 


.51.93 


48.07 


Iowa 


44.03 
26.58 


North Dalvolii 

Soutli Dalvolii 


7') 45 




76.86 
67.48 
67.96 
4;i.l3 
40.71 
48.71 
42.. 55 
49.89 
62.90 

90.62 

78.07 
(i9.73 
69.37 
95.75 
91.80 
98.97 
96.. 36 
96.77 
84.91 

iJ5.91 


2;i.i4 

32.52 
32.04 
.56.87 
59.29 
.51.29 
57.45 
50.11 
37.10 

9.38 

21.93 
80.27 
30.63 
4.25 
8.20 
1.03 
3.(i4 

15.09 

44.09 


61.13 


New Hampshire 

Vermont 


Nebrasica 

Kansas 

South Central Division. . . 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Alabama 

Alississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 


4:^.24 
27.91 




11.03 








88.46 
96.02 
95.53 
95.50 
73.98 
80.69 
87.64 
95.38 

.51 .83 


11.54 


New Jersey 

I'emisylvania 

South Atlantic Division.. 


3.98 
4.47 
4.50 
26.02 
19.31 
12.36 






4.62 


District of Coliinihia . . . 
Virginia 


Western Division 


48.17 


West Virginia 




43.99 
51.16 
59.87 
83.60 
43.34 
33.25 
87.83 
55.35 
54.49 
67.59 
44.77 


56.01 






48.84 






40.13 


Floriila 


New Mexico 


16.40 
.56.66 




Utah 


66.75 






62.17 


Ohio 


65.12 
79.10 
49.96 
44.27 


34.88 
20 iK) 
.50. tM 
55.73 




44.65 


Indiana 


Washington 

Oregon 


45.51 




;i2.41 




55.23 









THE BUirJUNa OF A NATION 
PLATE 14 



NORTH DAKOTA 

MINNESOTA 

WISCONSIN 

NEVADA 

UTAH 

LOUISIANA 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

RHODE ISLAND 

MISSISSIPPI 

ARIZONA 

CALIFORNIA 

NEW YORK 

MONTANA 

MASSACHUSETTS 

MICHIGAN 

DISTRICTOF COLUMBIA 

CONNECTICUT 

NEW JERSEY. 

FLORIDA 

ILLINOIS 

WYOMING 

GEORGIA 

ALABAMA 

WASHINGTON 

IDAHO 

MARYLAND 

IOWA 

NEBRASKA 

COLORADO 

VIRGINIA 

PENNSYLVANIA 

TEXAS 

OHIO 

NORTH CAROLINA 

DELAWARE 

OREGON 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

VERMONT 

ARKANSAS 

MISSOURI 

KANSAS 

T2NNESSEE 

KENTUCKY 

MAINE 

INDIANA 

[JEW MEXICO 

OKLAHOMA 

WEST VIRGINIA 



PERCENTAGES OF TOTAL POPULATION 
20 30 40 50 6,0 70 80 




Nathe White of Nathe Parent^}. 
Native White of Foreign Parent 



CONSTITUENTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE STATES IN 1890 



POPULATION 



121 



In our great cities the situation is even more startling, as will 
be seen by the diagram on Plate 15, facing page 122, and in the 
following table, which gives the percentage of native, foreign, 
and coloi'ed, to the total population. 

CONSTITUENTS OP THE POPULATION OP THE GREAT CITIES 



Cities 


Native of 
Native 
Parents 


Native of 
Foreign 
Parents 


Foreign 


Colored 


Milwaukee , . . 

New York 


13 
18 
21 
21 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
27 
29 
30 
30 
30 
31 
33 
36 
37 
39 
40 
43 
47 
49 
51 
54 
55 


48 
38 
50 
38 
27 
43 
36 
38 
40 
42 
45 
41 
37 
33 
40 
30 
37 
30 
36 
30 
29 
21 
26 
12 
23 
21 
23 
19 


39 
42 
23 
40 
42 
35 
40 
37 
33 
26 
24 
32 
31 
35 
30 
14 
30 
37 
25 
30 
15 
35 
16 
8 
25 
24 
14 
15 




2 


Chicago 

Detroit 

San Pranciseo 

Buffalo 



1 

10 



St. Paul 


1 


Cleveland 


1 


Jersey City 


2 


St. Louis 


6 


C'ineinnati 


4 


Brooklyn 





Pittsburg 


3 


Boston 


2 


Rochester 





New Orleans 


26 


Newai'k 


2 


Minneapolis 





Alloglieny 


3 


Providence 

Louisville 


3 

27 


Philadelphia 


4 


Baltimore 


15 




33 


Omaha 


3 
4 


Indianapolis 


9 




11 



Thus, in Boston the native element constitutes but 30 per 
cent. ; in Brooklyn, 28 per cent. ; in Buffalo, 22 per cent. ; while 
New York, with only 18 per cent, is practically a foreign city 
so far as- its population is concerned. Chicago contains a native 
element of but 20 per cent., and Detroit of but 21 per cent.; 
while among the great cities Milwaukee stands at tlie head (or 
foot), with a native element of but 13 per cent. The most 
extreme case, however, appears to be that of the little city of 
Ishpeming, in the heart of the iron region of Michigan, a city 



122 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



of some 11,000 people, of vvliieh (miIy () per eent. are native 
born of native parents ; the remainder, 94 per cent., being foreign 
born or the children of foreign born. 

Tlie following table shows the proportion in which the ele- 
ment of foreign birth of the great cities is made up as regards 
nationality, the total foreign elcMuont of each city being re- 
garded as constituting 100 per cent. : 



rKOPOKTION OF THE PRINCIPAL RLEIMENTS OP FOREIGN 
BIRTH TO THE TOTAL FOREIGN BORN, IN CITIES 













n 












>. 




-B-='l 


s s c 


.' an 


-^ 




C3 






§ 






■3.^ 03 




a 


.— 


i 

(5 




Cities 


<o 


1 


11^ 


■in 




a 


3 


SJ 












02 












% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 




m 

(>9 


ir 

4 


5 
4 


1 


"3 


i2 


1 
1 




1 


Milwaiiki'c 






(iO 
59 


22 
19 


G 


•> 
1 


1 
1 




1 
G 






BiiltimoiH' 






57 
54 
51 


21 
24 
21 


7 
9 
17 


o 
3 
1 


1 




1 
1 










Allcjihenv 




Buflfiilo 


48 
48 
44 


13 
24 
IG 


10 
13 
15 


12 

1 
15 


i 
i 


16 


1 


3 










Rochester 




Di'lroit. . . '. 


4;^ 

41 


9 
14 


12 
15 


23 
5 


i 




1 


1 

11 




Clevelainl 




Brooklyn 


3(5 


32 


13 


2 


(> 




T 






<^liieas;o 


3« 


l(i 


9 


5 


IG 




2 


G 




I'itlsburf; 


34 


29 


20 


1 


1 




3 






New Orleans 


33 


23 


(i 


1 


1 








11 




33 
31 
31 


30 
11 
38 


8 
15 


1 
9 
4 


1 

32 

1 




8 
1 

1 


1 
2 




St. Paul 




Washinirton 


2 


.lersev Cilv 


30 


42 


14 


2 


2 




1 




3 


Kansas (.'itv 


29 


22 


15 


8 


11 




3 




3 


I'liilailelpliiii 


28 


41 


18 


1 


1 




3 




3 




24 

21 


12 
17 


10 
20 


G 
10 


32 

17 


2 


2 


8 


2 


Denver 


2 


San Francisco 


21 


24 


11 


3 


5 




1 




4 




13 


G 
45 


6 

12 


13 
24 


5G 
3 




3 


1 




Boston 


3 


Providence 


4 


49 


25 


11 


4 




2 




4 



From this table it appears that more than two-thirds of the 
foreign element of Cincinnati and Milwaukee are Germans. In 
Cincinnati one-sixth are Irisli ; the Germans forming the 
majority of the foreign element, not only in these two cities, 
but also in Louisville, Baltimore, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and 
Allegheny. The German is the leading foreign element in nine- 
teen out of these twenty-eight cities, and stands secimd in seven 
more. Thus in twenty -six out of the twenty-eight cities em- 



THE BUILD fNG OF A NATION 
PLATE 15 



MILWAUKEE 








PERCENTAGES OF TOTAL POPULATION 
20 30 40 50 f50 70 dO 


90 100 

1 


NEWYORK 


1 1^ ' ' 


J 


CHICAGO 






DETROIT.... 


1 ^m 


' 




SAN FRANCISCO... 


H^^L^^ 


i — m 




BUFFALO 




* — , 


^^ 




ST. PAUL 


1 


^ i 1 


^ 


CLEVELAND 




1 1 1 


^ 




JERSEY CITY 


! '1 — \ — 


^i i 




ST. LOUIS 




1 i 


1 ^m 




CINCINNATI . 


\ 1 Ht^ 






BROOKLYN 




1 ' 




PITTSBURG _... 


^^^^^^ 


^^ \ \ \ m 




BOSTON 












ROCHESTER 




n. 






NEW ORLEANS 






\ 


.ji..i{ j 




NEWARK, 




— 1 — h^^^_ 


— 


\ - , ! 




MINNEAPOLIS 








z 






1 M 




ALLEGHENY 














I : i 




PROVIDENCE 














^■■K- 


' 




LOUISVILLE 














^ 




^* 




PHILADELPHIA 






1 




^ 




"^""^ 


^" 




BALTIMORE 














^* 




WASHINGTON 












"l* 


^"" 




OMAHA... 












■ 1 d 


"" 




DENVER 


1 1 










■ 1 ■ 






INDIANAPOLIS 














■ 1 '" 


^ 




KANSAS CITY 


1 


1 




1 


-^ 




■■--1 


^^ 





Native of Native Parents __ 
Native of Foreign Parents. 



3 Foreign _ 
I Colored 



CONSTITUENTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE 
GREAT CITIES IN 1890 



POPULATION 123 

braced in this table, the Germans are either the best or the 
next best represented. 

The Irish form a plurality in six cities only, but stand second 
in fifteen. The Scandinavians — including the Norwegians, 
Swedes, and Danes — are more numerous than any otiicr foreign 
nationality in the cities of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, 
and stand second in this regard in Denver, The Italians are 
somewhat prominent in New Ork-ans, being exceeded in num- 
bers only by the Germans and Irish. Many other intei'esting 
features are brought out in this table, especially concerning the 
habitat of the people from the south of Europe. 

Suminary.— The attempt has Vjeen made to sum up, in the 
diagram on Plate 16, facing page 12'!, many of the facts con- 
cerning the population. This consists in an effort to show the 
growth of each element of the population for a century, with its 
status at the end of the century. 

The breadth of the diagram opposite the years is pro]jortional 
to the population at that date, and the breadth of the various 
subdivisions is proportional to the numbers of the three ele- 
ments — colored, native, and foreign. The immigration of each 
decade is indicated by the additions between the dates. The 
separation between the elements of native and foreign blood is, 
of course, only an approximation. A tentative separation was 
made, under the assumption that the rate of natural increase of 
the foreign element was equal to that of the native element. 
Under this assumption the separation was carried forward to 
1870, where, as explained above, a definite separation was made 
by the census enumeration. This gave a correction which 
showed that the natural increase of the foreign element had 
been more rapid than that of the native element. Accordinglv 
the earlier results were corrected, and the rates of increase of 
the foreign and of the native elements, thus deduced, were pro- 
jected forward to 1890. The diagram at tiie bottom shows 
the present status of the population as regards colored, native, 
and foreign blood, classifying the last by the leading nationali- 
ties. 

From this showing it appears that the present composition of 
the population is somewhat as follows: 



124 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION, 1890 

Colored 7.500,000 

White of native extraction 30,000,000 

White of foreign extraction 25,000, 000 

The principal elements of the latter are: 

German 6,800.000 

Irish 6,500.000 

British 4,000,000 

Canadians 1,600.000 

Swedes and Norwegians 1,000,000 

Hungarians 500.000 

Italians 500.000 

Total 20.000,000 

The remainder of the 25,000,000 is distributed among various 
nationalities in small numbers. The white element of native 
extraction is apparently in the minority to-day in this conntry, 
being exceeded in number by the sum of the foreign element 
and the colored. British blood, however, is still largely in the 
ascendant; for b}" adding to the native element the 4,000,000 of 
Britisli and 6,500,000 of Irish, we get 40,500,000, about two- 
thirds of the entire population, and three-fourths of the entire 
white popidation of the country. 

POTENTIAL VOTERS 

The number of potential voters — that is, males above the age 
of twenty-one— was, in 1890, 16,940,311 ; in 1880 the number 
was 12,830,349. The increase during the ten years intervening 
was at the rate of 32.03 per cent, which was far in excess of 
that of population; as in the case of the militia, this was doubt- 
less due to the excessive immigration of the decade, which 
consisted in large jM-oportion of adult males. 'The potential 
voters formed, in 1890, 27.05 per cent, of the population. In 
1880 the same class constituted 25.58 per cent., showing a nota- 
ble increase in the proportion. 

Of the potential voting strength of the nation, 12,591,852, or 
74.33 per cent, were native born, and 4,348,459, or 25.67 per 
cent, were foreign born. The corresponding figures regarding 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 16 




1790 



1800 



18.10 



1820 



1830 



1840 



1850 



1860 



1870 



1580 



1890 



>^^ 



io'*?--? 



POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS CLASSIFIED 
BY RACE AND NATIVITY 



POPULATION 



125 



the total population, are 85.23 native born and 14.77 foreign 
born. This brings out forcibly the great dis[)roportion which 
the voting strength of the foreign element bears to the total of 
that element. 

Of the total number, 10,957,496, or 64.68 per cent., were 
native whites, and 1,740,455, or only 10.27 per cent., were col- 
ored. The native whites of native parents, or, as nearly as 
may be, the whites of native extraction, constitute but 52 per 
cent, of the voting strength of the nation, nearly one-half 
of the possible voters being either foreign born, native born of 
foreign parents, or colored. Like the corresponding element of 
the total population, the strength of the native element is in the 
south, while in the northwest it is in many states outnumbered, 
and in a few states greatly outnumbered, by the element of 
foreign extraction. Thus, in North Dakota the white voters of 
native extraction form but 21.20 per cent., of the total possible 
voters. In Minnesota the corresponding proportion is 23.06 
per cent. ; in Wisconsin, 22.24 per cent. In each of these cases 
more than three- fourths of the voting strength of the state is of 
foreign extraction. The following table shows the proportion 
of the potential voting strength contained in each division of the 
United States, contrasted with the corresponding proportion of 
the total population : 

PROPORTION OP POTENTIAL VOTERS AND OP TOTAL 
POPULATION 





Percentage of 

Voters 


Percentage of 
Population 


Northeast division 


29.85 
11.89 
86.62 
14.88 
6.81 


27.79 


Southeast division 

North Central division 


14.14 
85.71 


South Central division 


17.52 


Western division ■ 


4.84 







As in the case of the potential militia, it will be seen that in 
the northern and western groups of states, the potential voting 
strength is disproportionately large as compared with the total 
population, while the reverse is true as to the southern groups. 



126 



TEE BUILDING OF A NATION 



ALIENS 

The number of adult males of foreign birth in 1890 was 
4,348,459. Of this number 2,546,037, or 58.55 per cent, have 
been naturalized, and 236,069, or 5.43 per cent., have taken out 
first papers. Thus it appears that nearly two-thirds of the pos- 
sible voters among our foreign born, have either acquired citi- 
zenship or have taken the preliminary steps toward that end ; 
i, 160,214, or 26.68 per cent., are returned as aliens; while the 
remainder, constituting 9.34 per cent., furnish no information 
regarding citizenship. 




PROPORTION OF ALIENS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 

The distribution of the aliens is a matter of much interest. 
It is illustrated on the above map. Since the foreign born 
element is of slight importance in the Southern states, the 
question of its citizenship is of still less interest and may there 
fore be dropped from discussion ; it is in the Northern and 
Western states only that the foreign element is of importance. 
In the North Atlantic division more than a third of the foreign 



POPULATION 127 

born males of voting age — to be exact, 34.43 per cent. — are 
aliens ; in Maine the proportion is no less than 44.51 per cent. ; 
in New Hampshire, 50.05 per cent. ; in Rhode Island, 49.78 per 
cent. This large proportion in the New England states is 
probably due in great measure to the irruption of the French- 
Canadians, most of whom have come over the border as an alien 
people with no intention of forming a part of our body politic. 
The proportion of aliens in the North Central division is, on the 
other band, comparatively small, being but 18.78 per cent. 
The largest proportion among these states is in North Dakota, 
where it is 26.53 per cent. ; while in Minnesota it is 16.85 
per cent., and in Wisconsin 15.49 per cent. These, it will be 
remembered, are the three states in which the foreign born 
element and the element of foreign extraction" are greatest. 

The proportion of aliens in the western division is 32.09 per 
cent. It is greatest in Arizona, where it is 48.17 per cent, and 
least in Colorado, where it is but 23.89 per cent. In Utah, 
where the element of foreign extraction constitutes two-thirds 
of the population, the proportion of the foreign born males of 
voting age who are aliens is but 25.51 per cent. 



ILLITERACY 

For the statistics of illiteracy we are dependent upon the 
census, and unfortunately, these are among the last statistics 
to be compiled from the schedules. Thus, while most of the 
other matter has been digested and is before the public, the sta- 
tistics of illiteracy for 1890 are not yet available, and we are 
thrown back upon those for 1880. With these ligures, coupled 
with our information concerning the movement of population 
and of social conditions, it is possible to form a very close 
estimate of the condition and distribution of illiteracy at the 
present time. 

We know that in the ten years that have elapsed the school 
system of the Southern states has been greatly improved, both 
for whites and blacks, and that the enrollment and attendance 
have increased ; hence it may safely be inferred that through- 



128 '/'///■-' nriLnixa of a yATiox 

out the south tlio jiroportiou of illitoracv, both of white and 
cok">reil, has been rinliu'ed, and j>robabl_v to a considerable ex- 
tent. In the north, on tlie other hand, we cannot oxjuvt to lind 
any l'a\-orabK> ehan<;e. The schools ot the ni>rth ha\'e improved, 
but the enrollment and atten^huiec liave diminished, and con- 
sequent Iv we mav \ook (ov an inei-ease in the )>ro}iortion of 
illiterates in this part of the country. It is scarcely necessary 
to explain that this condition of thinus in the north is due to 
the unprecedented inmiigraiion <^f ihe last decade, which has 
brought not only hirue numbers of loreigners, bnt foreigners of 
a lower class in all respects than e\er before. It is probable 
that the net result of all these fact(>rs upon the illiteracy of the 
country, will slunv but trilling change as a whole. 

With this preface let us see what the statistics of the tenth 
census had to show rcganling the illiteracy of the population. 
The census asks two questions on this subject : " Can he read ? " 
and "Can he write?" Either of these is a sullicient test of 
elementary education, and so it will be unnecessary to give the 
answers to b>ith. \iOt us therefoi'c consider only the second 
of these intci'rogatories : *• Can he write ? '' 

In 18S() To per cent, of the population were of the age of ten 
years and upward. Taking the I'ountrv at large, including all 
sections, all races and all nativities, 17 per cent., or very nearly 
one-sixth, of those of the age o( ten and over wei'C unable to 
write. Oi the whites, only 9A percent, were unable to write; 
and dividing the number into those of native and of foreign 
birth, the proportions of those unable to write were respectively 
8.7 and 12 })er cent. Of the colored element, not less than 70 
per cent, were unable to fashion letters. As regards sex, there 
appears to have been slightly nuu-e illiteracy among females than 
among males, particularly with the colored race. 

The geographical distribution of illiteracy dilfers widely in 
different parts of the country, especially wdien the results are 
analyzed by race and nativity. The inai">s on Plates 17 and 18 
show the geographical distribution (^f illiteracy among the total 
population, the native whites, the colored, and the foreign born. 
In the south generally, not only among the colored people but 
among the wdiites also, the proportion of illiteracy was high, 



Till': lillLDISd OF A NATION 
PLATE 17 





/ COLO. 


S.DAK. I WIS.'yH i 


1.) y 





TO 


NEBR, Y ^ 5p/0\/ 


KAN8, 


W ILL. \UU.\ 
MO.\ ^.^.X^ 


OK LA. I-I 

JittO. 

it- 40'^ 

TEXAS 


\ tTenn? 


iii^f^ 


"\ 



PROPORTION OF PERSONS WHO CAN NOT WRITE, TO POPULATION, 
TEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER IN 1880 



J 4 \ ^our 

L / '^^K / s^ — J- 

( ^ \ 1 erl COLO 

\ ) ''^'/e 1 

A / ^- 1 N.M. 


S.DAK. (> wis.fr/ r' L ^^ 

1 'mIOH.\ 'V^Oi'^ 


|!-io 

1 


\ iowaN — ^i-v-/<<sT^• 


\- 


X ILL. iNu.\ I r\\ 

ARK. / 1 \V^'^ / 

\ ^^p. ALA A GA>y/ 


KANS. 


1 OKLA. fJ 

TEXAS 



PROPORTION OF NATIVE WHITES WHO CANNOT WRITE, TO ALL 
NATIVE WHITES OFTEN YEARS OFAGE OR OVER IN 1880 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 18 




PROPORTION OF COLORED PERSONS WHO CANNOT WRITE. TO 
ALL COLORED TEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER IN 1880 




PROPORTION OF FOREIGN BORN WHO CANNOT WRITE, TO ALL 
FOREIGN BORN TEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER IN 1880 



I 



POPULATION 129 

doubtless owing in great part to the absence of piil)lic schools in 
that section except during the fifteen years preceding the tenth 
census. In the South Atlantic and South Central states, taken 
as a whole, the proportion of those unable to write was 40 per 
cent. ; of colored it was 75 per cent., and of whites 20.8 per 
cent. 

In the North Atlantic and Northern Central states there was 
but little illiteracy among the native born, the pro[)ortion to the 
inhabitants of ten years of age and over being but 4 per cent.; 
while among the foreign born it was more than three times as 
great, being 12.^ per cent. Thus, the illiterate element of the 
north in 1880 was the foreign born element, as it doubtless is at 
present. 

Illiteracy is not, however, uniformly distributed among the 
foreign born, being much greater at the east tlian at the west. 
In the North Central states the proportions of illiteracy among 
the native whites, and among the foreign born, were respectively 
4.9 and 8.8 per cent., while in the northeastern states the like 
proportions were 2.8 and 15.4 per cent., respectively. 

In New England the proportions were still more sharply con- 
trasted. Of the native whites, only 1.3 per cent, were unable to 
write, while of the foreign born no less than 21.4 per cent, were 
deficient in this regard. It is probable that the greater propor- 
tion of ignorance among the foreign born of the eastern than of 
the western states, was due partly to the difference in the nativi- 
ties represented in these two sections of the country. In the 
northeastern states there were many French-Canadians, who are 
not only ignorant, but refuse to avail themselves of the facilities 
for education afforded by the public schools. In these states 
are found also the great majority of the Irish immigrants, who are 
measurably in a similar condition. Moreover, the poor and less 
enterprising of the immigrants, those who are content to remain 
where they are dropped upon our shores, or who, lacking the 
means to reach the interior, remained in the seaboard cities, 
have thus increased the proportion of illiterates of the eastern 
states. 

9 



130 THE BUILDII^G OF A NATION 



EDUCATION 

Public Schools. — Even as long ago as colonial times, the 
New England colonies recognized the need of education as an 
essential to good citizenship, and provided the means of acquir- 
ing it at public cost. The system of public schools which orig- 
inated in New England, was carried by her sons wherever they 
migrated. Thus the system grew np with the Northern Central 
and Western states. In the Southern states, on the other hand, 
the public school system, now universal, is of comparatively 
recent introduction. Before the civil war, there were few public 
schools in the south, the system having been developed in those 
states since that struggle. 

The public schools are supported mainly by direct taxation, 
which in many states is laid for that express purpose. More- 
over, in most of the states there are school funds, derived from 
various sources, the income from which is thus ap|)lied. One 
prominent source of these funds consists of the public lands 
donated by the general govermncnt to the states iu aid of educa- 
tion. In each of the states in which public lands existed, the 
United States has thus given the sixteenth, and in most of them 
also the thirty-sixth section of each township for this purpose, 
and from the sale of these lands large funds have been created. 

Besides the public school system, now in full operation in 
every state and territory, certain religious organizations, partic- 
ularly the Lutheran and Catholic churches, maintain separate 
schools, and, furthermore, there are large numbers of private 
schools, which, strange as it nuiy appear, are well supported. 

The public school system embraces, in all cities, high schools 
which carry forward the education of the young to the point of 
fitting them to enter colleges and professional schools. 

Throughout the south separate schools are maintained for the 
white and colored races. 

Eiirolliiieiit. — The total number of children enrolled in 
schools, in 1890, was 14,219,571. The total number of children 
of school age, which is arbitrarily assumed at from live to seven- 



f 



POPULA TTON 131 

teen years inclusive, was 18,543,200, or nearly 30 per cent, of the 
population. The school onrollrncnt was 75 per cent, of the 
children of scliool age. The attendance at school was about 
two-thirds of the enrollment. Therefore it appears that about 
one-half of the total number of children of school age attended 
school. 

Of the total number of children enrolled in all schools, 12,728,- 
417, or about nine-tenths of the whole, were enrolled in the 
public schools ; 753,972 were enrolled in private schools, and 
737,182 in parochial schools. 

The upper map on Plate 19, facing page 132, shows the j)ro- 
portion, by states, which the enrollment in schools of all kinrls 
bears to the number of children of school age. It shows that 
the highest [)roportion of enrollment is at the north, and the 
lowest at the south, as was to have been expected. In Kansas, 
Iowa, Maine, and Vermont more than nine-tenths of all children 
of school age are enrolled in the schools. The banner state in 
this regard is Kansas, which enrolls not less than 94 per cent. 
of her children, while Maine and Iowa each enroll 98 per cent. 

The converse of this picture is seen at the south. Arkansas 
enrolls but 58 per cent, of her children, and South Carolina but 
52 per cent., while of all the states Louisiana stands at the foot, 
with but 40 per cent. Strangely enough the purely rural state 
of Mississippi, with an immense colored population, enrolls not 
less than 79 percent, of her children, or nearly double the pro- 
portion of the adjoining state of Louisiana. 

Expenditure. — In the public schools the total number of 
teachers, in 1890, was 363,935; of these a little more than one- 
third were males, and a little less than two-thirds females. The 
total expenditure on account of the public schools was $140,277,- 
484, being at the average rate of $17 for each pu|)il in average 
attendance. The lower map on Plate 10, facing page 132, shows 
the average amount (;xj)cnded per pupil enrolled, in different 
parts of the country. 

The amount thus expended in the several states ranged from 
about $2 in Alabama to $25 in Colorado. Throughout the 
south generally the amount expended was small, the highest 
expenditure in any state being $7 per capita, in Texas. 



132 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



Of all the Northern states Maine expends the least per pupil 
enrolled, the amount being only $7. In the upper Mississippi 
valley and in the lake states the amount ranges from $10 to 
$14. Generally speaking, the rate of expenditure in the western 
states is very high, exceeding $20 per capita in Montana, 
"Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, and California. The only 
eastern state in which the rate exceeded $20, was Massachu- 
setts. 

A comparison of the statistics of enrollment in the public 
schools of the country in 1890, with similar figures for lv^80, is 
highly suggestive of the ill effects of immigration upon the com- 
munity. While in the ten years between 1880 and 1890 the 
whole number of children enrolled in the public schools of the 
country, as a whole, increased more rapidly than the population, it 
appears, when these figures are analyzed, that this increase has 
been effected almost entirely in the Southern states ; while in the 
northern states east of the Great Plains, with the single excep- 
tion of Rhode Island, the increase of enrollment has not been as 
great as that of population. In every northern state east of the 
plains, with this one exception, fewer children are now enrolled 
in the public schools, in proportion to the population, than ten 
years ago. This situation is developed by the tirst map on Plate 
19. Considering the advanced position of the northern states in 
matters relating to the education of the young, this result can be 
attributed to no other cause than the swarm of foreign ignorance 
let loose upon us. 

The following is a summary statement of the colleges and 
professional schools throughout the country, and the attendance 
thereat : 

COLLEGES AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS, AND ATTENDANCE 




students. 



CoUejjes . . 

(\>lk\iios for woinon 
Tlioological schools, 

Law schools 

Medical schools. . . 



118.581 

24.851 

7,058 

4,518 

15,484 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 19 




PROPORTION OF ENROLLMENT IN ALL SCHOOLS, TO CHILDREN 

OF SCHOOL AGE IN 1890 




EXPENDITURE IN DOLLARS, PER CAPITA.OF CHILDREN ENROLLED 
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 1890 



POPULATION 133 



OCCUPATIONS 

For our conceptions of the occupations of the people we are 
dependent, as in the case of illiteracy, upon the statistics of the 
tenth census, which portrayed the situation as it existed in 1880. 
It is modified by certain considerations of which we are able 
to take cognizance, such as the character and extent of the 
immigration, and the known course of development in certain 
branches of industry. 

Let us first look at the situation as it existed in 1880. The 
census takes account only of those occupations which can be 
classified as gainful ; i. c, those at which men and women labor 
for a pecuniary reward. The occupations of housewives, of 
children attending school, etc., do not come into this category. 

In 1880, out of a population of 50,000,000, 17,400,000 persons 
were engaged in gainful occupations. This was 34.8 per cent, 
of the whole number; in other words, a little more than one- 
third of the entire population were breadwinners. Classifying 
these breadwinners by sex, it will be seen that about 85 percent, 
were males and 15 per cent, females. 

The census separates occupations into four great general 
classes, according to the character of the industries : 

First, Those which relate to agriculture, including farmers, 
planters, cattle raisers, nurserymen, farm laborers, etc. 

Second, Professional and Personal Services, which includes 
all persons performing personal services of whatever grade or 
degree, from the highest professional character down to that of 
domestic servants and bootblacks. Were the two classes, pro- 
fessional and personal, separated one from another, the classes 
would have a definite meaning. 

Third, Trade and Transportation. Here again are two classes 
which should be distinguished. Merchants and dealers, with their 
clerks, salesmen, etc., can be easily separated from the employes of 
the agencies of transportation, such as railroads, water craft, etc. 

Fourth, Manufactures and Mining. This is a sufficiently dis- 
tinctive group, although it includes not only skilled workmen 
but unskilled laborers. 



134 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



This classilication tells very little eoiu'orning the inimbcv of 
breadwinners in the various stations of life, siuec eaeh o-roiip 
iiu'luiles persons in all statious, from the highest to the lowest. It 
is a elassilicatioii based upon product rather than upon occupation. 

The following little table shows the jn'oportion which each 
one of these classes bears to the total number of breadwinners : 

DISTUIUUTION OF TUIKADWTNXERS BY CLASSES 

AgHcultiiiv 44 jHM- ooiit. 

Profosisional ami porsoiial sorvit-os 'J4 '" " 

Trado and Iransiiortalion 10 " 

IManiirai'turos 'J'J •' 

The pro})ortion of persons engaged in agriculture is constantly 
diminisliing, while that of the other three classes is as con- 
stantly increasing, and it is probable that within a generation 
the jn'oportion of those engaged in manufactures and mining 
will become tlie ruling class. The following table shows by 
states, and groups of states, tlie ]n\>portioii which tlu>se engaged 
in gainful occupations bear to the total jiopulatitm, and the 
proportion which the number of workers in each of these four 
classes bear to the total number of workers in each state. The 
maps on Plate 20 show the distribution of those engaged in 
agriculture, and in manufacturing and mining, expressed in 
terms of the proportions which their numbers bear to the total 
number of wage-earners, 

PKOPORTTON OF TTIE NU1M15ER OF PERSONS IN THE UNITED 
STATES ENGAGED IN EACH CLASS OF OCCUPATIONS 



















^=3 


Sf'c S 


^||-s. 






"a 


« S 55 


3jS i 3 




ss 


g"2 


i^S 


3^x-=i 




= 3 o 




o-z 


c_ c 


C 4J aO 


States and Tkuiutoi!iks 


fc'l 


til 


ziil 




■£ =.= s 




























1^1 




roportion 
in Profe 
Bonal St 
8onB occ 


roportion 
in Trad 
tation t< 
cupied 


Proportion 
in Maiiii 
ical and 
to all pe 




a. 


a, 


Oh 


10 


The United States 


35 


44 


24 


23 


Alabama 


39 


1 t 


15 


3 


5 


Vri/oiia 


55 
32 


15 
83 


37 
9 


15 
4 


33 


Arkansas 


4 


California 


44 


21 


32 


15 


32 


Colorado 


53 


13 


25 


15 


47 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 20 




PROPORTION OF PERSONS ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE TO ALL 
WAGE EARNERS IN 1880 




PROPORTION OF PERSONS ENGAGED IN MANUFACTURI NG AND 
MINING TO ALL WAGE EARNERS IN 1880 



POPULATION 



135 



PROPORTION OF THE NUMBER OP PERSONS IN THE UNITED 
STATES ENGAGED IN EACH CLASS OF OCCUPATIONS— ^o«^m*<e(Z 



States and Territories 



Connecticut 

Dakota 

Delaware 

District of Columbia , 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan . . . . 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

jMissouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire , 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

New York 

North Carolina 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas .... 

Utah 

V^ermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



■£'3-3 
O.HH 



39 

43 

37 

38 

34 

39 

48 

33 

32 

33 

32 

32 

39 

30 

35 

40 

35 

33 

37 

32 

57 

34 

52 

41 

35 

34 

37 

34 

31 

39 

34 

42 

39 

29 

33 

28 

36 

33 

40 

28 

32 

43 



bfiS, 
03 



J3 P,- 

o — 'S, 
III 



18 
49 
33 

2 
64 
72 
25 
44 
52 
57 
64 
62 
57 
35 
28 

9 
42 
52 
82 
51 
20 
59 
13 
31 
15 
35 
20 
75 
40 
40 
21 

9 
75 
66 
69 
36 
47 
51 
42 
61 
47 
19 



SfPnO. 



a o; o C 

c a c o 



21 

24 

32 

60 

20 

17 

25 

23 

22 

20 

17 

20 

27 

20 

31 

24 

25 

23 

12 

22 

31 

19 

32 

20 

28 

47 

29 

15 

25 

25 

31 

21 

16 

21 

19 

28 

24 

30 

22 

18 

25 

45 



o S*^ 



q O) 3 K 
rC p C "^ 



S. "3 ^ 
o a o o 

^ .rH .^ +J 

Oh 



12 


49 


11 


16 


9 


26 


15 


23 


7 


9 


4 


7 


9 


41 


13 


20 


9 


17 


10 


13 


8 


11 


6 


12 


8 


8 


13 


32 


15 


26 


16 


51 


10 


23 


10 


15 


3 


8 


11 


16 


13 


36 


10 


12 


14 


41 


8 


41 


17 


40 


8 


10 


18 


33 


3 


7 


10 


25 


9 


26 


12 


86 


13 


57 


4 


5 


5 


8 


7 


5 


10 


26 


7 


22 


6 


13 


12 


24 


6 


15 


9 


21 


17 


19 



136 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Taking the country over, the average proportion of those 
engaged in gainful occupations to the total population, as 
stated above, in 1880, was 3-1.8 per centr In all the North 
Atlantic states, with the exception of Pennsylvania, this pro- 
portion was exceeded; and in southern New England it was 
greatly exceeded, being in Rhode Island not less than 12 per 
cent., in New Hampshire 41 per cent., and in Massachusetts 
40 per cent. The excessive proportion of persons engaged 
in gainful occupations in these states is doubtless due in the 
main to the great extension of the factoi-y system, employing 
female labor, as is further shown by the statistics of occupa- 
tions distributed by sex. In the North Central states the pro- 
portion of persons engaged in gainful occupations was below 
the average in nearly every case, being exceeded only in the 
then territory of Dakota. The Southern states showed great 
diversity in this respect. The Virginias, North Carolina, 
Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida had less 
than the average proportion of persons with occupations, 
while in the other states the average was exceeded. The excess 
in the cotton states is probably due to the fact that the col- 
ored population, men, women, and children, work in the fields. 
In the Western states, with the exception of Idaho and New 
Mexico, the proportion of persons with occupations ranged very 
high in 1880, for the reason that they were then in an unsettled 
social condition, the proportion of adult males being great. 

The distribution of the classes of occupations over the country, 
accords with the relative prevalence of the different industries 
suggested by these occui)ations. Of all persons in the country 
reported as having gainful occupations, 44 per cent, were engaged 
in agriculture. In all the states lying south of the Potomac and 
Ohio rivers, and west to the western boundary of Texas, those 
engaged in agriculture constituted more than half of all those 
having occupations. This was true also among the Northern 
Central states of Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and 
Nebraska, which are the agricultural states par excellence of the 
Northern Central section. In some of the Southern states, mainly 
those of the cotton belt, the proportion ranged very high. Thus 
in Arkansas 83 per cent, of the persons occupied were engaged 



Population 137 

in agriculture; in Mississippi, 82 per cent. ; in Alabama, 77 per 
cent. ; in the Carolinas, 75 per cent. ; and in Georgia, 72 per 
cent. The other extreme was reached ia New England, where 
in Massachusetts and Rhode Island but 9 per*cent. were engaged 
in agriculture; in New Jersey, 15 per cent. ; in Connecticut, 18 
per cent. ; in New York, 20 per cent.; and in Pennsylvania, 21 
per cent. In the far west the proportion engaged in agriculture 
is generally low, owing mainly to the prevalence of mining. 
Thus in Colorado and Nevada but 13 per cent, were engaged in 
agriculture ; in Arizona, 15 per cent. ; in Wyoming, 19 per cent. ; 
in Montana, 20 per cent. ; and in California, 21 per cent. 

The obverse of this picture is presented by the statistics of 
those engaged in manufacturing, mechanical, and mining occupa- 
tions. In this class of occupations the Southern states are very 
feeVjly represented ; in Mississippi but 3 per cent, were so 
engaged, and in Arkansas but 4 percent.; in South Carolina, 
Alabama, and Texas, but 5 per cent. ; in North Carolina and 
Georgia, only 7 per cent. On the other hand, in Massachusetts 
and Ptliode Island more than half the population were engaged 
in this class of avocations, and very nearly half in Connecticut. 
In New Hampshire 41 per cent, were so engaged ; in New Jersey, 
40 per cent. ; and in Pennsylvania, 36 per cent. Passing west- 
ward, we find that Ohio had gained rapidly as a manufacturing 
state, one-fourth of the population being occupied in these avo- 
cations. Indiana was less advanced, having but 17 per cent., 
and was exceeded on the north by Michigan with 23 per cent., 
and on the west by Illinois with 20 per cent. The states of the 
plains had smaller proportions: Kansas, 11 per cent. ; Nebraska, 
12 per cent. ; and Dakota, 16 per cent. In the states and terri- 
tories of the far west, in which mining was prominent in 1880, 
the proportion engaged in this class of avocations was high, Colo- 
rado showing 47 per cent, Nevada and Idaho each 41 per cent., 
and Montana 36 per cent. At that time tbe average of the entire 
country showed 22 per cent, engaged in this group of occupations. 

The following table gives, for the whole United States, the 
proportion Avhich the breadwinners of each principal nationality 
bore, in 1880, to the total number of that nationality living in 
the country : 



138 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



PROPORTION OP BREADWINNERS OP EACH NATIONALITY 

United States 32 per cent. 

Ireland 53 " " 

Germany ? 53 " " 

^ Great Britain 51 " " 

Norway and Sweden 54 " " 

Canada 49 " " 

From this it apjoears that the proportion of breadwinners 
among the foreign born was far greater than among the native 
born. This prominent fact is due to several causes. In the 
first place, the mimigration consists in large proportion of adult 
males, a fact which in itself is sufficient to account for this 
difference. Moreover, the greater part of the immigration comes 
from countries in which women as well as men play a consider- 
able part as breadwinners, especially among the lower classes 
from which the immigration is largely drawn. 

The following table shows the proportion in which the bread- 
winners of different nationalities are distributed among the 
great groups of occupations above described : 



DISTRIBUTION OF BREADWINNERS BY OCCUPATIONS 





Agriculture 


Professional 

and 

Personal 


Trade and 
Transporta- 
tion 


Manufactures 

and 

Mining 


United States 


50 
14 

28 
22 
45 
21 


22 
48 
21 
17 
25 
26 


10 
14 
15 
12 

8 
9 


18 


Ireland 


29 


Germany 


36 


Great Britain 


49 


Norway and Sweden 

Canada 


22 
44 







This table brings out in strong relief certain facts regarding 
the occupations of different nationalities. The farming class 
is mostly recruited from the native born, one-half of these 
being engaged in that group of occupations. No other nation- 
ality approaches it in this regard, excepting Norwegians and 
Swedes, of whom 45 per cent, pursue agricultural callings. 
Next are the Germans with 28 per cent, and least of all the 
Irish with only 14 per cent. In personal and professional ser- 
vices the Irish come first, 43 per cent, being engaged in this 



POPULATION 



139 



great mixed group of occupations, while our native citizens 
stand very low, and the natives of Great Britain lowest of all. 
In manufactures and mining the natives stand lowest, only 18 
per cent, of their number being engaged in this group of avoca- 
tions, while the British stand at the head with fully one-half 
their number, followed by the Canadians with 44 per cent. 

Let us now examine into the distribution of the native and 
foreign elements that compose our mixed body politic, with 
reference to certain selected occupations which are indicative of 
stations in life. In the following table these selected occupations 
are arranged in order, from the highest to the lowest, and the 
figures opposite them express by percentages the proportion 
which the number of wage-earners in each occupation bears to 
the total number of wage-earners among the native born, and 
the foreign born : 

RATIO OP NATIVE AND FOREIGN BORN WAGE EARNERS 
TO TOTAL POPULATION, BY CLASSES 





Native Bom 


Foreign Born 


Clergymen physicians, lawyers 


1.5 
1.5 

26.0 
2.5 
2.7 
0.5 
0.8 
1.3 
5.9 

22.0 
9.6 


0.7 


Teachers 


0.4 


Farmers 


17.6 


Traders 


4.0 


Clerks accountants and salesmen 


1.9 


Iron and steel workers 


1.2 


Miners 


3.6 


Textile operatives 


3.7 


Domestic servants 


7.3 


Farm laborers 


4.6 


Laborers 


14.9 



From this table it is at once apparent that, as a rule, the 
native born occupy stations higher in life than the foreign born. 
Thus the proportion of clergymen, physicians, and lawyers 
among the native born is double that among the foreign born ; 
of teachers, it is nearly four times as great ; of farmers, it is 50 
per cent, greater ; of traders, it is, however, considerably less. 
Of clerks, accountants, and salesmen the proportion is greater, 
while of skilled workers.it is less than one-half; of miners, less 
than one-fourth ; and of textile operatives, a little more than one- 



140 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

third. The proportion of native born domestic servants and of 
laborer's is much smaller; while of farm laborers it is, on the 
other hand, many times as great, owing to the indisposition of 
the foreign born to engage in agricultural pursuits, a matter that 
has been treated more fully elsewhere. 

Occupations of Iiiiinigraiits. — All of the foregoing 
figures and conclusions relate to the status of the population as 
it existed in 1880. Since that time we have the statistics of 
immigration during the decade, an immigration which numbered 
5,250,000. These immigrants have been classified by the Bureau 
of Statistics according to occupations, and the results supple- 
ment those of the census of 1880 and indicate very clearly what 
we may expect to learn when the statistics of occupations from 
the eleventh census become available. Of the total number of 
immigrants, 2,246,000, or about 43 per cent, were wage-earners. 
This proportion is somewhat less than that of the foreign 
element in the country in 1880. The immigrants having no 
occupations probabl}^ consisted almost entirely of women and 
children under fifteen years .of age. These two classes comprise 
just about one-half of the total number of immigrants. Of those 
reported as having gainful occupations, the following propor- 
tions are found, 3 per cent, being unknown : 

OCCUPATIONS OP IMMIGRANTS CLASSIFIED 

Professional occupations 1 per cent. 

Traders and dealers 3 " " 

Farmers 14 " " 

Household servants 9 " " 

Skilled labor 20 " " 

Unskilled labor 50 " " 

So far as this classification conforms to that in the last table, 
derived from the tenth census, it shows a great increase in the 
lower classes of occupations, especially in that of unskilled labor. 
The proportion of traders and dealers, and of farmers, has dimin- 
ished, while that of household servants and of common laborers 
has greatly increased. 

The Bureau of Statistics has published a classification of 
occupations of immigrants from 1820 to 1890, and it will be 
instructive to analyze the tables— especially since 1840, when 



POPULATION 



141 



immigration began on a considerable scale — to determine 
whether, as is commonly asserted, the quality of the immigra- 
tion, as indicated by occupations, has deteriorated in recent 
years. The following table shows by decades the proportion 
which the number of immigrants, in each of four characteristic 
classes, bears to the total number of immigrants: 

RATIO OF IMMIGRANTS ENGAGED IN CERTAIN CLASSES OF 
LABOR TO TOTAL IMMIGRANTS 





Professional 


Skilled 


Farmers 


Laborers 


1840-50 


0.4 
0.8 
0.6 
0.8 
0.5 


1.0 
0.9 
1.3 
1.3 

1.0 


14.6 

15.9 

9.5 

9.2 

7.0 


15.8 


1850-00 


20.8 


1860-70 


22.9 


1870-80 


17.9 


1880-90 


25.4 







From this table it appears that the professional class, though 
always very small, increased up to 1880, but that in the last 
decade it has diminished decidedly ; that skilled labor increased 
somewhat up to 1870, and since then has been diminishing; 
tliat since 1860 the farming class have diminished steadily and 
rapidly, and now constitute less than half the proportion they 
did between 1850 and 1860 ; that the class of unskilled labor- 
ers increased up to 1870, diminished between 1870 and 1880, 
and in the last decade has increased very greatly and consti- 
tuted a much larger proportion of the total immigration than 
ever before, exceeding one-fourth of the whole number of im- 
migrants. 

On the whole, this table certainly indicates, so far as occupa- 
tions go, a decided deterioration in quality, especially during the 
last ten years, and fully substantiates the popular idea. 

Changes in OccuiJiitions.— Owing to the rapid substitu- 
tion of machinery for human labor and skill in manufacturing, 
a radical change has taken place during the last quarter of a 
century in the character of the occupations of the manufacturing 
classes. Within the recollection of most persons now living, 
things were made by skilled workmen — blacksmiths, wheel- 
wrights, cabinet makers, tailors, etc. At present, however, the 



142 TEE BUILDING OF A NATION 

skilled trades are but feebly represented, and will soon be obso- 
lete. In tbeir place has sprung up a vast army of machine 
tenders, whose function is simply to feed the machines and see 
that thej do their work properly. The same machine, under 
the same superintendence, may make a great variety of articles. 

Thus the occupations of labor, instead of becoming more com- 
plex, as is commonly supposed, are in fact becoming greatly 
simplified. Labor, instead of being differentiated, is becoming 
homogeneous. 

Science, in its application to the industrial arts, is constantlv 
bearing fruit in the form of new machines to supplant human 
skill and manual labor. Yet the demand for labor is greater 
than ever, if we may judge by a comparison of the past and pres- 
ent rates of wages. This would be a paradox were the demand 
for manufactured articles to remain constant; but with the intro- 
duction of machinei'y comes a cheapening of the product, and 
with the cheapening of the product comes in turn an increased 
demand, as the community rises to a higher scale of comfort and 
luxurv, and thus the demand keeps pace with the supply. 

Wages. — The condition of the laboring classes in the United 
States is greatly superior to that in any European country. It 
is well known that wages are higher ; but the fact that the pur- 
chasing power of their wages is greater, though equally true, is 
perhaps not so generally accepted. In other words, the wages 
in terms of food and clothing are higher. The Bureau of Labor 
finds that wages in Massachusetts are higher than in Great 
Britain in the proportion of 170 to 100, while commodities are 
also higher in the propoi'tion of 117 to 100. To su)n up, it ap- 
pears that wages, expressed in commodities, are about 40 per 
cent, higher in Massachusetts than in Great Britain. 

The American workingman is better fed, clothed, and housed, 
and enjoys more luxuries, than his European brother. Why? 
The protectionists attribute it to the tariff. If so, why are not 
the working classes of Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, and 
Spain, all of them protected countries, equally prosperous ? Is 
it not due rather to the fact that this is a new country, in which 
development is going on rapidly ; in which, speaking broadly, 
there is an abundance of work, and comparatively few to do 



POPULATION 143 

it? In short, is not the demand for labor crowding upon the 
supply ? 

The high price and scarcity of labor have greatly stimulated 
invention. It is a common saying, that, thanks to machinery, a 
man of to-day can produce as much as a hundred men of the 
last century, and the saying is in great part true. We have 
devised machines for making almost everything, and they can do 
almost everything except think. 

TRADES UNIONS 

In recent years, the laboring classes have formed organiza- 
tions, or trades unions. These are much more complete and 
powerful among the various classes of skilled labor than among 
the unskilled chesses, which are as yet but feebly organized. 
Most of the skilled trades are represented in the American 
Federation of Laboi", which is said to include a membership of 
about 650,000, thus representing not far from one per cent, of 
the population, and ten per cent, of the laboring classes. The 
principal trade organizations included in the Federation, are as 
follows : 

ELEMENTS OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OP LABOR 

Carpenters and Joiners 63,000 

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen 24,000 

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers 30,500 

Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen 24,000 

Iron Molders' Union 36,000 

Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers 45,000 

International Typograpliical Union 29,000 

Journeymen Tailors' Union 18,500 

Whatever may be the avowed purposes of trades unions, 
their principal object is to control rates of wages in their own 
interest. In this matter they have shown the want of fore- 
sight and breadth of view which was to have been expected from 
the classes making up their membership. The controlling ele- 
ment in these organizations is of foreign birth or immediate 
foreign extraction. Their plan of operations is direct and sim- 
ple; it is to obtain, in detail, every concession that it is possible 



144 THE nrTLDTxa of a xatiox 

to wring from tlie employers, using every weapon at hand, legal 
or illeual, such as blackmail, boycott, or violence. By such a 
policy they have scored many seeming successes, but at the cost 
of alienating to a large extent the sympathies of the community, 
and of discouraging industry in many loctilities, thereby reduc- 
ing the demand for labor therein. The struggle between em- 
ployers and employes has already become so bitter, that a large 
and rapidly increasing proportion of the former refuse to employ 
members of labor organizations. 

This narrow, short-sighted policy of the labor organizations is 
certain to injure the laborer in the long run. Any hostile atti- 
tude toward employers is as injurious to the interests of the 
laborers as would be a similar attitude ou the part of employers 
toward employes. 

There are, however, many things which these organizations 
can undertake that would be of permanent good to their class, 
and that would injure no one. Indeed, there are measures 
which, if carried out, would better their condition ]-)ermanently 
and rationally ; prominent among them is the restriction of immi- 
gration. The worst enemy of the American laboring man is the 
European laboring man. If immigration is to go on unchecked, 
labor before many decades will become as abundant here, in pro- 
portion to the demand, as in Europe ; and when that time arrives, 
all the trades unions in America will be unable to keep its price 
above the European standard. 

INVENTION 

The high }u-ice of 1;i1hm- in this country has induced an activ- 
ity of invention unparalleled in other times and in other lands. 
From the cotton-gin to the telephone, the list of American in- 
ventions is almost identical with that of the world. 

The steamboat and the locomotive have revolutionized traffic 
and reduced the earth to a fraction of its former dimensions. 
Not only has the railwa}" increased the rate of travel ten times, 
but it has also vastly increased the comforts of travel, chief 
among which are sleeping-cars. The safety of travelers is pro- 
vided for, not only by the character of the railway employes, but 



POPULA riON 145 

by scores of devices, sucb as tlie "Westinghonsc air brake and the 
block system of running trains. 

By means of refrigerator cars perishable goods are transported 
to great distances, and the fruits of Florida and California reach 
New York as fresh as when plucked. Rapid transit in cities 
has been brought about by street cars, which, drawn at first by 
horses on mules, are now driven by cables or by an electric cur- 
rent. Elevators carry us up and down our high buildings, re- 
ducing them practically to one story. As to the communication 
of messages, the telegraph, and later the telephone, have simply 
annihilated space. 

These are a few of the things that Americans have done in the 
way of expediting, cheapening, and rendering more comfortable, 
the great business of transportation. 

It is not so easy to go into details concerning manufactures, 
because of the great multiplicity of inventions for cheapening 
and bettering the product. Almost everything is made by ma- 
chinery ; and though many of the machines may have originated 
in foreign lands, there are none of them in their present form 
but show, in modifications and adaptations, the fine inventive 
genius of the American. Thus the printing-press, although a 
German invention, lias been brought to its present high state of 
excellence mainly through American ingenuity. So with the 
countless machines used in metal working, in boot and shoe 
making, and in spinning and weaving. 

In the applications of electricity the Americans have always 
occupied the loading place. Besides the telegraph, the telephone, 
and the electric street car, already mentioned, they have intro- 
duced and developed electric lighting and the transmission of 
power by wire for all sorts of domestic and light manufacturing 
purposes. 

Even the farmer's condition has been vastly improved by 
invention. In place of the spade and hoe we have to-day gang 
plows and harrows driven by horse or steam power. The flail 
has given way to the steam thresher, and the scythe and sickle 
to the mowing-machine, tlie reaper and binder, " In the sweat 
of thy face shaft thou eat bread," was not written of this day 
or generation. 
10 



146 TEE BUILDING OF A NATION 



RELICtION 

In the United States absolute religious freedom prevails. 
There is no restriction upon belief, al though in certain cases, 
notabl}^ that of the Mormons, restrictions have been placed upon 
actions growing out of such belief. As a result of this free- 
dom, coupled with the great variety of peoples assembled here 
from all parts of the globe, the number of religious denomina- 
tions, with their petty subdivisions, is almost bewildering. There 
are hundreds of species and varieties of religious belief, each 
rejM'csented by some form of organization. 

The total number of clergymen, preachers, etc., in 1890, as 
returned by the eleventh census, was 108,879 ; of church edifices, 
112,378. The value of church property was $680,000,000, and 
the number of communicants 20,661,016. This number consti- 
tutes more than one-third of the population of the country, 
and half of that ])art of the population which exceeds ten 
years of age. The principal denominations, and the number of 
communicants in each, are shown in the following table: 

MBMBERSUIP OK PlilNCIPAL RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS 

Catholic 6,257,871 

Methodist 4,589,284 

Baptist 3,763,729 

Prosbyterian 1,278,832 

Lutheran 1,231,072 

Christian 744,773 

Episcopal 540,509 

Congregational 512,771 

Rcfonned 309,458 

United Brethren 225,158 

German Evangelical Synod 187,432 

Latter Day Saints 166,125 

Evangelical Association 133,313 

Jews 130,496 

Friends 107,208 

Dunkards 73,795 

Unitarian 67,749 

Adventist 60,491 

Universalist 49,194 

Mennonite 41,541 



POPULATION 147 

From the foregoing table it appears that the Catholics and 
Methodists together outnumber all other denominations, con- 
stituting more than one-half of the total church membership of 
the country ; that the Catholics, Methodists, and Baptists jointly 
represent more than two-thirds of the church membership ; 
while these, with the Presbyterians and Lutherans, comprise 
no less than seventeen-twentieths, leaving only three-twentieths 
of the entire church population to be distributed among other 
denominations. 

Catholics. — It will be seen that the Catholics form the most 
numerous religious body ; but it must be understood that this 
denomination counts in its membership all members of a family 
of which either or both the heads are connected with the cliurch, 
while in the other denominations this practice docs not prevail. 
A moment's reflection will show that this method of countingi: 
must swell greatly the apparent number of Catholics, and that 
in order to make their membership comparable with that of the 
other denominations, it should be reduced nearl}^ or quite one- 
half, since of the inhabitants of the United States, and presum- 
ably of the Catholic element, approximately one-half are under 
age. 

The Catholic population is derived from several sources, 
and is widely dispersed over the country, as will be seen by the 
map on Plate 21, facing page 148. It is present in strong force 
throughout the northeastern states, where it is composed mainly 
of Irish immigrants and their descendants, and of French Cana- 
dian immigrants. It forms a considerable part of the popula- 
tion of the states bordering the Great Lakes, where it is mainly 
composed of French Canadians. A notable proportion is found 
in Maryland and tlie District of Columbia, made up mainlv 
of the descendants of the original settlers ; also in Louisiana, of 
the descendants of the French and Spanish founders of that 
state. The Catholic is almost the sole religion represented in 
New Mexico, and is prominent in Arizona, southern California, 
and southern Texas, where its adherents are of Mexican blood. 

Methodists. — Next to the Catholic the Methodist denomi- 
nation is the strongest numerically upon the face of the returns, 
and is probably the strongest of all in fact. It is widely repre- 



U8 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

seined, at least one per cent, of the population of every state and 
territory, Utah and Nevada excepted, being Methodists, as is 
shown by the map on Plate 21. Its greatest strength is in the 
southern states — the colored element of these states belong- 
ing, with few exceptions, either to the Baptist or the Methodist 
denomination; and it reaches its maximum in South Carolina, 
where not less than twenty-two per cent, of the entire population 
are Methodists. 

Baptists. — The Baptist denomination is almost as widely 
dispersed as the Methodist, as illustrated on Plate 22, although 
in the far west it is bat feebly represented. Like the Methodist 
body it is strongest, both numerically and proportionally, in the 
southern states, especially among the colored element, and is 
proportionally weak at the north. In the Carolinas and Georgia 
twenty per cent, of the population are Baptists; in Virginia, 
nineteen per cent ; and in Alabama and Mississippi, seventeen 
per cent. 

Presbyterians. — The Presbyterians are found in their 
greatest strength in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and 
thence westward through the prairie states as far as Kansas. 
Notable proportions occupy the states lying north of these, such 
as New York and Michigan, and those lying immediately south, 
as the "Virginias, Kentucky, Teimessce, and the Carolinas. In 
proportion to their total numbers they are a wide-spread denomi- 
nation, as is shown on Plate 22. In New England, however, 
there are practically none, the New England Presbyterians being- 
Congregation alists. 

Lutherans. — The Lutherans are a German denomination, 
whose extent and density appear to be in direct ratio to those 
of the German element of the population. This is shown on 
Plate 23. They are found from Pennsylvania and New York, 
westward to the rock}' mountain region, occupying the northern 
states of the Mississippi valley and the Lake states, and appear 
in the greatest proportion in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the 
Dakotas, where the German population is most fully established. 

Christians. — The Christians are a large denominaticm, 
numbering nearly three-quarters of a million. Members of this 
denomination are found in nearly every state in the Union, but 



THE BUI LI) I Nd OF A NATION 
PLATE 21 




PROPORTION OF CATHOLICS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF M ETHODISTS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 22 




PROPORTION OF BAPTISTS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF PRESBYTERIANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 



77//'; liUILDINd OF A NATION 
PLATE 23 




PROPORTION OF LUTHERANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF CHRISTIANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1390 



77//; liUILDISd or A NATION 
PLATE 24 




PROPORTION OF EPISCOPALIANS TO TOTAL POPULATION IN 1890 




PROPORTION OF CONGREGATION ALISTS TO TOTAL POPULATION 

IN 1890 



POPULATION 149 

its ))riricipal strength is in the states of the upper Mississippi 
valley— in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennes- 
see, and Kansas — while to the eastward they are found in con- 
siderable nurnhcrs in Virginia and North Carolina and to the 
southwest as far as Texas. The distribution of this denomina- 
tion is shown on J*late 28, facing page 148, 

EpiHCopaliaiis. — The Episcopalians arc found almost en- 
tirely in the northeastern states, and in the greatest numbers in 
lihode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. ^I'hey 
extend in a notaVjle ratio as far south as Maryland and even 
Virginia, but the denomination has not spread westward or far- 
ther southward in any appreciable proportion. Their distribu- 
tion is shown on Plate 24, facing page 148. 

Conjifrej^atioiialists. — The Congregatioualists (see Plate 
24, facing page 148; are practically confined to the New Eng- 
land states, in whicli they form proportionally a yary important 
body, but are quite inconsiderable in other parts of the country. 

Other Doiioinhiatioiis. — The f<;regoing are the princif)al 
denominations. Of the legion of others, none have a member- 
ship reaching half a million, and few of them present any 
features of distribution of special interest, with the possible 
exception of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 
popularly known as the Mormons. These peculiar people, 
numbering 166,000, are found almost entirely in Utah and the 
states and territories immediately adjacent; 118,000, or two- 
thirds of all the Mormons, are found in Utah ; and in neighbor- 
ing parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada 
are 25,000 more. The few remaining arc scattered widely over 
the east. It will doubtless be a matter of surprise to many to 
learn that over 5,000 members of this community are still to be 
found in the state of Iowa, and 3,000 in Missouri. 

Distribution of Cominuiiicaiits. — Finally, the distri- 
bution of church membership as a whole is brought together 
upon the diagram on page 150, and upon the map constituting 
l^late 25, facing page 150. Of all the states and territories the 
greatest proportion of church membership to jjojjulation is found 
in New Mexico, where, as above stated, the people are almost 
entirely Catholics ; dii per cent, of the 69 per cent, which churfh 



150 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



members bear to population being of that denomination. Next in 
order is Utah, where 61 per cent, of the people are church mem- 
bers, nearly all of them being Mormons. Then follows Arizona, 
where the high proportion of 1:7 per cent, is produced mainly 
by the Catholics of Mexican blood. Next comes South Carolina 



10 15 20 25 



PER CENT. 
30 35 40 



45 50 55 60 65 70 



NEW MEXICO 

UTAH - 

ARIZONA 

SOUTH CAROLINA... _ . 

RHODE ISLAND 

MASSACHUSETTS 

NORTH CAROLINA 

CONNECTICUT 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

MINNESOTA 

GEORGIA 

ALABAMA 

FLORIDA _ 

LOUISIANA 

MARYLAND 

NEW YORK 

NEW JERSEY.... 

VIRGINIA... 

KENTUCKY.. 

MISSISSIPPI 

OHIO - 

PENNSYLVANIA 

WISCONSIN 

ILLINOIS .- 

INDIANA 

NORTH DAKOTA 

VERMONT 

TENNESSEE 

TEXAS - 

DELAWARE 

IOWA 

IDAHO 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

MISSOURI 

MICHIGAN 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

ARKANSAS 

WEST VIRGINIA 

MAINE 

MONTANA 

KANSAS 

OREGON... 

CALIFORNIA 

COLORADO 

WYOMING 

NEBRASKA... 

WASHINGTON 

NEVADA 

OKLAHOMA 



B 



PROPORTION OF CHURCH MEMBERS TO AGGREGATE 
POPULATION IN 1890 

with 45 per cent., mainly Methodists and Baptists. Other 
southern states have a high percentage of church membership ; 
as 42 per cent, in North Carolina, and 36 in Alabama, Florida, 
and Louisiana. But the proportions in these states are, on the 
whole, exceeded in southern New England, where the proportion 





iy^ 




o 






V, 




V 

^3 


il 


1- 




( 


^ 
N. 


Q£ 






f 




POPULATION 151 

is 43 per cent, in Rhode Island, 42 per cent, in Massachusetts, 
and 41 per cent, in Connecticut. These large proportions are 
due chiefly, as already stated, to the presence of great numbers 
of Irish and French-Canadian Catholics. In the upper Missis- 
sippi valley the proportion of church membership to population 
is about the same as in the country at large ; that is, about 33 
per cent. At the west, with the exception of the territories, the 
proportion is low, reaching only 14 per cent, in Nevada, 17 per 
cent, in Washington, and 18 per cent, in Nebraska. The ex- 
tremely low proportion given for Oklahoma, 7 per cent., may be 
regarded as merely a temporary condition of things, produced by 
the influx of lawless elements to that newly opened land. 



MORTALITY 

Continuous records of mortality have been kept only in the 
states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, of late years 
in Alabama, and in some of the larger cities. It is for these 
states and cities alone that we have complete and reliable statis- 
tics of the total number of deaths, and of the diseases to which 
they were respectively due. 

Census Statistics. — The statistics of the eleventh census 
were secured partly by an extensive correspondence with physi- 
cians, and partly from the schedules of the enumerators. Circu- 
lar letters were sent to all the physicians of the country whose 
addresses could be obtained, asking for records of all deaths 
occurring in their practice. These inquiries were quite generally 
answered, but of course the replies did not by any means include 
all deaths occurring during the year. The failures in this 
regard were due to several reasons: 

First, The lack of a complete list of physicians ; 

Second, The failure of a certain proportion of those called 
upon, to answer ; 

Third, The failure of memory in the case of many who did 
answer ; and. 

Fourth, The fact that a considerable proportion died unattended 
by physicians. 



152 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

The enumerators' returns were also deficient, owing mainly to 
defects of memory on the part of those answering the questions 
in the schedules, and, perhaps, in certain individual cases to the 
carelessness of the enumerators themselves. 

The returns from these two sources were, of course, to a large 
extent, duplications one of another. The first work, and a very 
important one, was to eliminate these duplications. When this 
had been done, and the returns footed, they were compared with 
the record of the states and cities which liad kept careful records 
of mortality, and the extent of the deficiencies and their char- 
acter examined. 

These registration states and cities indicate that the annual 
death rate of the United States is about eighteen deaths per 
thousand inhabitants. The census returns show an apparent 
death rate of fourteen per thousand, ])roving that, on the whole, 
the omissions amounted to not far from four deaths per thou- 
sand. 

But the extent of these omissions is by no means uniform in 
dift'erent parts of the country ; neither is it the same at different 
ages nor for the different races and nativities ; nor even for dif- 
ferent classes of diseases. In the densely settled northeastern 
states the census returns are much more nearly complete than 
among the scattered rural population of the south. The returns 
are more complete as to mature persons than as to children, 
especially children less than one year of age. It is also true that 
the returns are much more complete for the native wliites than 
for the foreign born, and these in turn than for the colored pop- 
ulation. As to the foreign born, the returns are doubtless more 
complete in the case of nationalities known to be higher in the 
scale of civilization than in the lower. Thus, among the Ger- 
mans, Irish, and Scandinavians, the returns are more satisfactory 
than among the Poles, Hungarians, and Bohemians. 

As regards the inequality in the returns of mortality from 
different diseases, it is found that the returns for the diseases 
prevalent among children are less complete than those prevalent 
among grown persons. 

Having thus qualified the mortality statistics, they are given 
for what they are worth. The total number of deaths reported 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 26 




PROPORTION WHICH THE NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM CERTAIN 
DISEASES BORE TO ALL DEATHS IN THE 
UNITED STATES, IN 1890 



POPULATION 153 

by the census in the year 1890 was 872,944, showing a death 
rate for that year of fourteen per thousand. The number of 
deaths of native whites was 596,055, a death rate for that class 
of thirteen per thousand. The number of deaths of foreign 
whites was 140,075, showing a death rate of fifteen per thou- 
sand ; and the number of deaths reported among the colored was 
114,313, also a death rate of fifteen per thousand. 

The mortality statistics of the registration states of Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, show that the death rate of 
the foreign born is slightly greater than that of the native whites. 

Again, in the registration state of Alabama, and in the cities 
of Baltimore, Washington, St. Louis, Louisville, and New Or- 
leans, where a considerable proportion of the population is 
colored, the statistics show that the mortality of the colored ele- 
ment is very nearly double that of the whites, ranging in these 
cities from thirty-two to thirty-eight per thousand, while that of 
the whites ranges from seventeen to twenty-two per thousand ; 
thus demonstrating the fact that the mortality returns for the 
colored element, as compared with those for the white, are greatly 
understated. 

Causes of Death. — The following table gives the number 
of deaths from several leading causes, with the proportion 
which each bears to the total number of deaths. The diagram 
on Plate 26, facing page 152, presents the same facts in a graj)hic 
manner. 

RATIO OP DEATHS FROM CERTAIN DISEASES TO TOTAL 
MORTALITY 



Causes of Death 



Percentage of 
Total Deaths 



Scarlet fever 

Measles 

Whooping cough 

Diphtheria and croup , 

Enteric fever 

Malarial fever 

Diarrheal diseases. . . . 
Cancer and tumor , . . . . 

Consumption 

Pneumonia 

Puerperal diseases. . . . 



0.7 
1.1 
1.0 
4.8 
8.1 
2.1 
8.5 
3.4 
11.6 
8.8 
1.3 



154 



THE BUILDINO OF A NATION 



Thus it appears that the principal cause of death is cousump- 
tioD, which has produced 11.6 per cent, of all deaths. Next 
follows pneumonia with 8.8 per cent., and diarrheal diseases 
with 8.5 per cent. 

Mortality in Registration Cities.^The following 
table gives the statistics of mortality in most of the registration 
cities of the country, which comprise the twenty-five largest 
cities. This is illustrated also in the diagram on page 155. The 
table shows the death rate of the total population, of the native 
and foreign born white, and, in the case of five southern cities 
where the proportion of colored is considerable, the death rate 
of the colored. 

MORTALITY IN REGISTRATION CITIES 



New York . . . 

Chicago 

Philadelphia . 
Brooklyn .... 
St. Louis .... 

Boston 

Baltimore 

San Francisco 
Cincinnati . . . 
Cleveland. . . . 

Buffalo 

New Orleans. . 
Pittsburg. . . . 
Washington. . 

Detroit 

Milwaukee . . . 

Newai'k 

Minneapolis. . 
Jersey City. . . 
Louisville .... 

Omaha 

Rochester. . . . 

St. Paul 

Kansas City. . 
Providence. . . 



Total 


Native White 


29 


32 


21 


19 


23 


26 


26 


22 


19 


17 


23 


26 


25 


22 


23 


26 


22 


21 


22 


26 


20 


21 


29 


22 


22 


23 


26 


18 


20 


24 


20 


21 


29 


31 


15 


17 


28 


29 


22 


18 


10 


10 


17 


15 


17 


21 


19 


16 


22 


23 



Foreign 



23 
26 
14 
23 
21 
22 
23 
20 
25 
15 
17 
38 
19 
28 
14 
16 
24 
10 
24 
25 
7 
18 
10 
16 
19 



C'oIdR'i 



32 



The small death rate of the foreign born in many of these 
registration cities, is probably due to the fact that there are in 
this element no young children, among whom the death rate is 
exceptionally large. 



POPULA TTON 



155 



NEW YORK 

NEW ORLEANS.. 

NEWARK 

JERSEY CITY..... 

BROOKLYN 

WASHINGTON... 

BALTIMORE 

PHILADELPHIA.. 

BOSTON 

SAN FRANCISCO. 

CINCINNATI 

CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURG 

PROVIDENCE 

LOUISVILLE 

CHICAGO 

BUFFALO 

DETROIT. 

MILWAUKEE 

ST. LOUIS 

KANSAS CITY. 



NUMBER OF DEATHS PER THOUSAND INHABITANTS 
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 1.8 20 22 .24 26 23 30 



DEATH RATE OF THE GREAT CITIES IN 1890 

Death Rates of Coiiiitries. — The following table, and the 
diagram on page 156, give the death rate per thousand in this 
country, in comparison with that in most of the European nations : 

DEATH RATES PER THOUSAND IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 

United States 18 

Denmark 19 

England and Wales 19.5 

Scotland 19. 7 

Netherlands 20. 5 

Portugal 20.5 

Belgium 20.0 

Switzerland 20.9 

France 22.8 

German Empire 24.4 

Italy 26.4 

Austria 29.4 

Spain 29.7 

Hungary 33.9 



156 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



From this showing it would appear that the Americans live 
longer than the citizens of any European country. 



UNITED STATES_ 
DENMARK 



ENGLAND AND WALES 

SCOTLAND 

NETHERLANDS 

PORTUGAI 

BELGIUM 

SWITZERLAND 

FRANCE 

GERMAN EMPIRE 

ITALY 

AUSTRIA 

SPAIN 

HUNGARY. 



NUMBER OF DEATHS PER THOUSAND INHABITANTS 

1 8 12 1^6 20 24 28 3.2 36 



DEATH RATES OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES IN 1890 



CRT^FE 



In 1890 tliere were in the United States, under conviction for 
crime, 82,329 persons, or 13 in every 10,000 of the inhabitants. 
Of these 18 per cent, were in juvenile reformatories, 24 per cent, 
in county jails, and 55 per cent, in penitentiaries. Only 8 per 
cent, were females, the remainder, 92 per cent., being males. Of 
the whole number, 7,386, or 9 per cent., were under sentence for 
homicide. 

The following table shows the distribution of the total imm- 
ber of prisoners by race and nativity, this distribution being 
expressed in terms of the proportion between the total number 
of prisoners and the number in each class. Together with it is 
placed, for contrast, the like proportion between the total popu- 
lation and the total number of persons of each class in the 
population : 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 27 

MARITAL RELATIONS 

>^^Ty< >^P^r^' >'^^>^°''% ^5^Tr>!^ 



^eQ^oe^ 




Diuorced | !\ Widouied | i Married \ . | Single 

IDLE AND EMPLOYED 




EDUCATION 




I \ llliterata \ [ Can read only | j Cg/i read and write 

HABITS 




TRADE 




I I Mechanic 



THE PRISONERS OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1890 



I 



POPULA TION 



157 



RACE AND NATIVITY OP PRISONERS AND OP POPULATION 




Proportion of all 
Population 



White native of native parents 26 55 

White native of foreign parents 19 18 

Foreign born 19 15 

Colored 30 13 

Unknown 



The relations of the number of prisoners to the various ele- 
ments of the population, is expressed in different form in the 
following table : 

NUMBER OF PRISONERS OF EACH CLASS IN 10,000 
INHABITANTS 

Total 13 

White natives of native parents 6 

Wliite natives of foreign parents 13 

Foreign born 17 

Colored .']2 

These figures show that the proportion of criminals among 
whites of native extraction is very small ; that the proportion of 
criminals of native birth, but of foreign parentage, is more than 
twice as great as among those of native extraction ; that the pro- 
portion of criminals of foreign birth is nearly three times as 
great as among those of native extraction, and much greater than 
that of native birth but foreign extraction. It shows, further- 
more, that the proportion of colored criminals is far greater than 
that of any other element, being more than double the propor- 
tion of the whites, and more than five times that of the whites 
of native extraction. It is the colored and foreign elements that 
burden our courts and fill our jails. Could they but be elimi- 
nated from our population, the millennium would be near. 

In the diagram on Plate 27, facing page 156, are illustrated 
other facts concerning the social condition of the prisoners. It 
will be noted that the majority of prisoners were unmarried, that 
the proportion of the widowed and divorced was very small, and 
that two-thirds of them were employed when the crimes were com- 



158 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

mitted. In the matter of education, it appears, taking the whole 
group together, that about one-fourtli were illiterate; of the 
native born the proportion was very much less, while of the for- 
eign born about one-fifth were unable to read or write ; of the 
colored clement, considerably more than one-balf were illiterates. 
Ecgarding the use of intoxicating liquors, it will be seen that 
more than one-half of each element were moderate drinkers, and 
that but a comparatively small proportion were drunkards. 
Three-fourths of all prisoners had no trade ; the proportion is 
less in the case of the whites, particularly those of foreign extrac- 
tion. In the case of the colored element, probably nine-tenths 
were without any well-defined means of earning a livelihood. 

PAUPERISM 

The amouut of pauperism is a function of two elements : first, 
the poverty of the masses ; and, second, the provision for its 
relief. The more elaborate and complete this provision, the 
greater the amount of pauperism. 

In the United States the abundance of work and its ample 
remuneration keep down the numbers of the destitute ; while, on 
the other hand, no such provisions exist here for the support of 
those who are willing to accept support, as are found in most 
European countries. It is true that almshouses are maintained 
by most of the New England towns and by many of the counties 
elsewhere, and that there are many charitable organizations of one 
sort or another ; but altogether the provision for the support of 
the needy is in no way comparable with that of older countries. 

Our available statistics relate only to indoor paupers ; i. e., 
those supported in almshouses. No figures are given for those 
receiving casual aid or outdoor relief. 

In 1890 the number of paupers in almshouses was 73,045, or 
12 in every 10,000 of the population. The number of males 
was slightly in excess of females, a fact for which it is difficult 
to account. The following table shows the distribution of pau- 
pers by race and nativity, this proportion being expressed in 
terms of the number in 10,000 of each element of the popula- 
tion : 



POPULATION 159 



DISTRIBUTION OF PAUPERS BY RACE AND NATIVITY 

Total 12 

White 12 

White, natives of native parentage ., 9 

White natives of foreign parentage 9 

Foreign born 30 

Colored 9 

Thus it appears that the proportion of all these elements is 
equal, with the exception of the foreign born, which is more 
than three times as great, a fact that speaks volumes in favor of 
the restriction of immigration. 



CONJUGAL CONDITION 

The last census furnishes, for the first time, the statistics of 
the single, married, widowed, and divorced. These are classi- 
fied bj sex, race, general nativity and nativity of parents, and 
by age. 

Of the total population 59.29 per cent, were single, 35.66 per 
cent, married, 4.74 per cent, widowed, and 0.19 per cent, di- 
vorced. 

Analyzing the figures by sex, it is seen that of males 62.20 
per cent, were single, while of females there were only 56.24 per 
cent, single. The proportions of married were : males, 34.94 per 
cent, and females 36.41 per cent, the latter being slightly the 
greater. Of widowed the proportion of males was but 2.54 per 
cent, while of females it was not less than 7.05 per cent, show- 
ing that a much greater proportion of widowers remarry than of 
widows. Of the divorced, the proportion of males was 0.15 per 
cent, and of females 0.24 per cent, showing that divorced men 
remarry more freely than divorced women. 

The classification by race and nativity develops many inter- 
esting features. This is, in a measure, a broad classification by 
station in life, and the facts brought out by it throw light upon 
the conjugal condition of different social classes. 

Native whites of native parentage, when taken as a whole. 



160 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

form the highest social class of the community, as measured bv 
education, occupations, and freedom from pauperism and crime. 
The native born of foreign parentage occupy, as a whole, the 
second place, while the foreign born and the colored form the 
lowest class. 

The native whites of native parentage, and the colored, have 
the normal proportions of children and mature persons. The 
native whites of foreign parentage, and the foreign born, on the 
other hand, contain abnormal proportions of these classes. 
Among the first the proportion of children is very large; or, to 
put it in another way, the proportion of mature persons is very 
small, because the parents are of foreign birth. With the foreign 
born the reverse is the case ; the proportion of children is very 
small, because the immigration is mainly of mature persons. 
These facts affect greatly the proportions of single, married, 
widowed, and divorced. Of the native whites of native parent- 
age, 59.76 per cent, were single, 35.41 per cent, were married, 
4.46 per cent, were widowed, and 0.21 per cent, were divorced. 
Among the native whites of foreign parentage the corresponding 
proportions were 76.79 per cent, 21.48 per cent., 1.63 per cent, 
and 0.10 per cent., respectively ; while among the foreign born 
they were 32.75 per cent, 57.95 per cent, 8.91 per cent, and 
0.20 per cent, respectively. 

The classification of the population by sex and groups of ages 
also develops many features of interest For example, of the 
males under 15 years of age, the proportion of married is inappre- 
ciable, while of females about one in ten thousand were married. 
Between the ages of 15 and 20, one-half of one per cent, of the 
males and one per cent of the females were married. At ages 
above 20 the proportion of married increased rapidly. Between 
20 and 25, nearly one-fifth of the males and nearly one-half of the 
females were married, while for the next five years the propor- 
tions had increased to nearly one-half of the former and nearly 
three-fourths of the latter. Between 30 and 35, three-fourths of 
the males and four-fifths of the females were married. At ages 
between 35 and 45, the proportion of married of the sexes was 
nearly equal, about four-fifths of them being married. From this 
point the proportion of married females diminished, owing to the 



POPULATION 161 

increase of widows, while that of married males went on increas- 
ing, and reached its maximum at between 45 and 55 years. At 
ages over 65, only a little more than one-third of the females were 
found to be married, while the proportion of widows exceeded it. 
At these ages the proportion of married men was seventy per 
cent. The proportion of widows exceeded that of widowers at 
all ages. 

The native whites of native parentage married younger and in 
greater proportion than the native whites of foreign parentage or 
the foreign born. Furthermore, there was among them a smaller 
proportion of widowed, owing, probably, to the smaller death 
rate. The colored married earlier and in greater proportion than 
the whites, and the proportion of widowed was greater among 
them ; owing, again, to the greater death rate. 

What has Vjeen stated above shows that marriage among the 
higher classes of society is not less universal than among the 
lower, but rather the reverse, and thus disposes of another pop- 
ular tradition. 

Further proof of this is afforded by a study of the geographi- 
cal distribution of the married. Among the native whites of 
native parentage, the greatest proportion of married is found in 
the oldest and most thickly settled section of the country, viz., 
the northeastern states, and the smallest proportion at the 
south. 

Divorce. — Among the aggregate population the proportion 
of divorced to married people was 0.54 per cent. ; in other words, 
there was found one divorced person to 186 married persons. 
The proportions differed with different classes, as follows: Na- 
tive white of native parentage, 1 to 164; native white of foreigTi 
parentage, 1 to 200 ; foreign born, 1 to 294 ; and colored, 1 to 
152. 

The proportion among the total population ranges widely in 
different parts of the country, being least in the southeastern 
states, where it was but 1 to 322 ; next in the northeastern 
states, where it was 1 to 263. Next in order were the south 
central states, where the proportion was 1 to 182 ; then the 
north central states, with 1 to 150; and, finally, the western 
states, where it reached not less than 1 to 88. Of course a part 
11 



162 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

of this difference in geographical distribution is due to the 
migration of divorced persons, but another part must be 
due to a difference in the laws regulating divorce in different 
states. 

A comparison of divorce statistics of the great cities vsrith 
those of the country at large shows that, on the whole, there 
were fewer divorces in cities than in the country, in proportion 
to married people. 



AGRICULTURE 



For statistics of agriculture we are dependent primarily upon 
the census. Througli its agency we are enabled to ol)tain every 
tenth year a reasonably faithful picture of the condition of this 
great industry. 

Basing its work upon the census reports, the statistical office 
of the Department of Agriculture furnishes estimates each year 
of the state of the leading crops. Naturallj^ enough, these esti- 
mates are much more reliable in the early years of the decade 
than in the later ones. 

The statistics of the last census were for the crops of the year 
1889. The tabulation of the results has been completed for cer- 
tain leading crops only, such as the cereals, cotton, wool, tobacco, 
and sugar, and the general statistics of agriculture, the principal 
among which are those relating to areas, numbers, and values of 
farms, the extent of improved land, and total value of agricul- 
tural products. These figures are sufficient for a clear presenta- 
tion of the condition and growth of this industry. 

Relative Iini>ortance of Agriculture. — Considering 
the number of persons employed and supported, agriculture is 
still, as it has always been, the leading industry of the United 
States. In 1880 forty-four per cent, of all tlie inhabitants en- 
gaged in gainful occupations were devoted to agriculture, and 
probably at the present time the proportion, while less, has not 
greatly diminished. Certainly two-fifths of all those engaged in 
gainful occupations are concerned in the cultivation of the soil, 
and a corresponding proportion of the total population is sup- 
ported by their labor. 

But if the value of product, instead of persons occupied, be 
considered, a different proportion will be found. The value of 
all agricultural products in ISSO was $2,213,000,000. In 1890 
it had increased to $2,460,000,000, being at the rate of only a 



164 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

little more than eleven per cent., a rate very much less than the 
rate of increase of population. 

As stated elsewhere, the estimated net value of manufact- 
ures in 1890 was a trifle over $4,000,000,000, being no less than 
thirty-three per cent, greater than the product of agriculture. 
Ten years before, the net product of manufactures was $1,973,- 
000,000, being slightly less than that of agriculture. If these 
estimates are correct, manufactures have, during the past dec- 
ade, passed agriculture in importance, as measured by value of 
product. For a graphic com))arison of the proportions of the 
leading industries in 1890, see diagram, Plate 28. 

General Statistics. — In 1880 the number of farms was, 
in round numbers, 4,000.000. In 1890 it was 4,565,000, having 
increased during the decade at the rate of fourteen per cent. 
This, which is also much less than the rate of increase of popu- 
lation, indicates that the accessions to our numbers during the 
past decade have been, in the main, additions to the ranks of 
other avocations. 

The value of farms in 1880, including all improvements, was, 
in round numbers, $10,200,000,000. In 1890 this item had 
grown to $13,276,000,000, showing a rate of increase of thirty 
per cent, an increase greater than that of the number of farms, 
thus showing a decided advance in the average value of farms. 

Farming tools and machinery had a value in 1880 of a trifle 
over $400,000,000. The same item had a value in 1890 of 
$494,000,000, or nearly twenty-four per cent, greater. 

Hence the capital invested in agriculture in 1890 was not less 
than $13,770,000,000; and this capital produced a return in 
that year, of $2,460,000,000, or less than eighteen per cent, 
upon the capital. 

Since 1850, when agricultural statistics were obtained for the 
first time, the average size of farms has been diminishing, having 
decreased from 203 acres in 1850, to 134 in 1880. During the 
last decade the average size has slightly increased, being in 
1890 137 acres. 

In 1880 the extent of cultivated or " improved " land, as the 
census designated it, was 285,000,000 acres. Ten years later this 
had increased to 358,000,000 acres, or about 560,000 square miles. 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 28 




RELATIVE VALUE OF THE INDUSTRIES OF 
THE UNITED STATES, IN 1890 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 29 



1850 



1860 





1870 



1880 




The areas of the circles represent the area of the eountry; 

the red portions the cultivated land, and the 

blue portions the uncultivated land. 



PROPORTION OF CULTIVATED LAND TO TOTAL AREA 
OF THE COUNTRY 



AGRICULTURE 



165 



In other words, in 1890 a trifle more than one-fifth of the total 
area of the country, excluding Alaska, was under cultivation. 

The following table and diagram, together with the diagram 
on Plate 29, facing page 164, summarizes the statistics npon 
these subjects for the past forty years : 



VALUE, NUMBER, AND SIZE OF FARMS, AND VALUE OF 
PRODUCTS, BY DECADES 



Value of farms, implements 
and machinery (millions of 
dollars) 

Number of farms 

Average size of farms (acres). 

Cultivated land (millions of 
acres) 

Value of products (millions of 
dollars) 



1850 



3,434 

1,449,078 

203 

113 



1860 



6,891 

2,044,077 
199 

163 



1870 



7,700 

2,659,985 

153 

189 



1880 



1890 



10,604 13,770 

4.008,907 4,564,641 

134 137 



285 
2.213 



358 
2,460 



1850- 
I860.. 
1870. 
1880. 
1890_ 



1850. 
1860. 
1870. 
1880- 
1890 



BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 
4 5 6 7 



1.2 13 



VALUE OF FARMS, IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINERY 

5 MILLIONS 



1850 








J 






2 


\ 


1860 

1870. 

1880 

1890 






















1 














1 




r^^ 


r^n 








^^nT 



NUMBER Of FARMS 

100 



200 ACRES 



AVERAGE SIZE OF FARMS. 1850 TO 1890 



166 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Improved Land. — Tlie proportion between the cultivated 
land and the total area of each state, follows quite closely the 
density of population of the states, except in the case of those 
most densely populated. It is affected, liowever, quite appreci- 
ably by the topography of the state; the level prairie states, 
such as Illinois and Iowa, having a higher proportion than the 
adjacent more broken ones. 

This proportion is shown by the map on Plate 30. In the 
states and territories of the Rocky mountain region, with the 
exception of those of the Pacific coast and Colorado, scarcely 
one acre in a hundred is cultivated. In Oregon, Wasliington, 
Colorado, Florida, and North and South Dakota, less than one 
acre in twenty of the total area is improved. In the southern 
states the proportion ranges from twelve per cent, in Texas to 
sixty-one per cent, in Delaware, the proportion increasing north- 
ward and eastward. The maximum of land under cultivation 
is reached in the prairie region. In Illinois and Iowa nearly 
three-fourths of the total area is cultivated, in Ohio more than 
two-thirds, and in Indiana three-fifths. In the North Atlantic 
states about two-fifths of the land is under cultivation, although 
in Maine this proportion drops to less than one-sixth of the 
area. 

Tobacco. — Tobacco is produced to a greater or less extent 
in forty-two states and territories; in most of them, however, 
only in small quantity for local consumption. In seventeen 
states only is it produced in commercial quantity. A large pro- 
portion of the supply, nearly one-half the crop of the entire 
country, comes from Kentucky. This stale, with Virginia, 
Ohio, North Carolina. Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, produced 
in 1889 over 400.000,000 pounds, out of a total production of 
488,225,896 pounds, or not less than eighty-two per cent. In 
proportion to its area Connecticut also is a heavy producer 
of tobacco, its production in 1889 reaching nearly 9,000,000 
pounds ; while that of Wisconsin, although the state lies very 
far north and has a correspondingly severe climate, reached more 
than 19,000,000 pounds. The relative importance of the various 
states in the production of tobacco is shown by the map on 
the next page. 



AGRICULTURE 



167 




YIELD OF TOBACCO, IN POUNDS, PER SQUARE MILE OFTOTAL 
AREA IN 1889 

Wheat. — This is the most important of the cereal crops; 
important not only to the United States, but to the world at 
large, inasmuch as the United States forms the principal source 
of wheat supply for those countries that are unable to supply 
themselves. 

The wheat crop of the United States in the year 1889 was 
468,000,000 bushels; in 1890, 899,000,000 bushels; in 1891, 
612,000,000 bushels; and in 1892, 519,000,000 bushels. The 
year 1891 was an exceedingly prosperous one for the northern 
farmers; not only were their cereal crops enormous, but the 
price was high, owing to a shortage of the crops in Europe. 
This great yield was produced mainly in the northern states of 
the Mississippi valley. New England has long since ceased the 
attempt to supply herself with wheat. The cotton states depend 
upon their northern neighbors for their supply, but the northern 
central states produce enough for themselves and have to spare 
for the rest of the world. 

The greatest diversity exists in the yield of wheat per acre; 
a diversity attributable mainly to the degree of care used in 
cultivation. Thus the small supply raised in the northeastern 



1(38 THE BUTLDiya OF A XATION 

States sbows a heavv yield per acre, ranging from fifteen to nine- 
teen bushels. In the older of the northern central states, where 
the farms are subdivided inti> small holdings, the yield is almost 
equallv large, ranging rn>m fourteen to sixteen bushels; while 
in the Dakotas, where land is cheap and wholesale methods 
prevail, and where the aim is to get the greatest possible yield 
with" the least amount of labor, without regard to area, the yield 
per acre is small, being but nine bushels in North Dakota and 
but seven in South Dakota. In that part of the west where the 
land requires irrigation, and where for this reason the hoKlings 
are comparatively small and cultivation closer, the yield is large, 
running as high as twenty-two bushels yicv acre in Nevada and 
Colorado, and twenty-four in Montana. The other extreme is 
found in certain of the cotton states, the average yield in South 
Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama being but five bushels per acre. 
The production of wheat per square mile and the yield per acre, 
are illustrated by the maps on Plate 31. 

The United States is by far the largest wheat producing 
country of the globe. In 1891 it produced 612,000,000 bushels, 
while India produced only 235,000.000 bushels, France 231,000,- 
000 bushels, Kussia 186,000.000 bushels, Hungary 119.000.000 
bushels, and Italy 102,000,000 bushels. 

Corn. — Indian corn is cultivated to an enormous extent in 
the United States, and its cultivation is very widespread. From 
Florida and Texas to Minnesota, and from Maine to California, 
lields of maize greet the eye on every hand. The production of 
the country in 1889 exceeded two thousand million bushels — 
2,121,798,728, to be exact. This was an unusually heavy crop. 
In 1890 it fell to 1, -190,000,000 bushels; in 1891 it rose to 
2,060,000,000, and it fell again in 1892 to 1,628,000,000 bushels. 
While cultivation of corn is thus widespread, it is of the great- 
est importance in those states which occupy a middle position 
in point of latitude — that is. in New Jersey and Maryland, 
and westward through Kansas and Nebraska to the Pacific 
coast — and is of the least consequence in the states of the 
extreme north and of the extreme south. In the latter states 
it is supplanted to a considerable extent by cotton, and, on 
the other hand, the climate of the extreme northern states 



THE BUILD IN(1 OF A NATION 
PLATE 31 




PRODUCTION OF WHEAT, IN BUSHELS, PER SQUARE MILE OFTOTAL 

AREA IN 1330 




YIELD OF WHEAT PER ACRE, IN BUSHELS, IN 1889 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 32 




PRODUCTION, IN BUSHELS, OF INDIAN CORN PER SQUARE MILE 
OF TOTAL AREA IN 1889 




YIELD, IN BUSHELS, OF CORN PER ACRE IN 1889 



I 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 33 



XJ K^,^^^ 












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TEXAS ^'- 


kWf^. j- — I — "T^ 
MISS. ALA.V 


v^ 


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Vk 






\ ^ 




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^ 





PRODUCTION, IN BUSHELS, OF OATS PER SQUARE MILE OF 
TOTAL AREA IN 1889 



r^ r^^^^""---^ 










p^^-^saTTT^ 


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TEXAS \ / 


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YIELD, IN BUSHELS, OF OATS PER ACRE IN 1889 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 34 




YIELD OF COTTON, IN BALES, PER SQUARE MILE OF TOTAL AREA 

IN 1889 




YIELD OF COTTON PER ACRE. IN TENTHS OF BALES, IN 1889 



THE BUILDTXG OF A NATION 
PLATE 35 







7r^ 




' N.DAK. 
S.DAK. 








n 


i\ 


/vjo/vr. 


M.NN./^ 

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CD 


f VVyo / 




NEBR. 

KANS 

- 


i IOWA S ^ 
\ Ovefro 


^ \ OHIO A,_r5^TJ3;i:/ 
ALA.V GA-V/ 


/Vfv. 


/ '^^-^H 


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1 N.M. 


1 OKLA. 


d. 


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TEXAS 


1 a5!,> 

)la. I. 


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Vi 


\J 





NUMBER OF TONS OF HAY RAISED PER SQUARE MILE OF 
TOTAL AREA IN 1888 




NUMBER OF BUSHELS OF POTATOES RAISED PER SQUARE 
MILE OFTOTAL AREA IN 1888 



AGRICULTURE lg9 

is too severe to permit its cultivation upon an extensive 
scale. 

The yield of this crop per acre cultivated, is also greatest in 
the middle tier of states. It is large in New England and also 
in New Yoriv, on account of the thorougli cultivation practiced 
there. At the south it is small, as a rule, mainly because of 
careless cultivation or exhausted soil. 

The corn crop is used directly as food to a lai-gc extent, 
especially at the south ; and it contributes indirectly to the food 
supply, to a still larger extent, by being fed to cattle and liogs. 

The importance of this crop, and the yield per acre, are illus- 
trated by the maps on Plate 32, facing page 168. 

Oats. — The production of oats has increased greatly of late 
years, partly at the expense of wheat and the minor cereals, such 
as barley and rye. In 1889 the total })roduct far exceeded that 
of wheat, amounting to 809,000,000 bushels. In 1890 it dimin- 
ished greatly, being but 524,000,000 bushels. It increased in 
1891 to 738,000,000 bushels, and dropped again to 661,000,000 
bushels in 1892. Being a hardy crop, it is raised almost exclu- 
sively in the northern states, from New England to the plains, 
and to the greatest extent in the states bordering the Great 
Lakes and in the prairie states. 

The same states show also the greatest yield per acre culti- 
vated, ranging as high as thirty-nine bushels in Iowa. The 
yield is high in New England, and very low in the southern 
states. The importance of the crop and the yield per acre are 
shown by the maps on Plate 33, facing page 168. 

The other cereals are of minor importance. The production 
of rye in 1889 was 428,421,413 bushels ; of barley, 79,334,381 
bushels; and of buckwheat, 12,107,785 bushels. These are all 
hardy crops, and are produced mainly in the northern part of 
the country. 

Cotton. — The culture of cotton is confined to the region 
lying south of the Potomac, the Ohio and the Missouri rivers. 
Within this area the principal region of production, where 
the crop acquires its greatest prominence, is. in the Carolinas, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. 

Cotton holds a very high rank among agricultural products, 



170 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



in absolute money value and in relative importance to the otber 
crops in the region where it is cultivated. 

The crop of 1892 was the largest ever raised, reaching a total 
of not less than 9,038,707 bales; in 1891 it was 8,655,518 bales, 
and in 1890 7,313,726 bales, as appears from the estimates of 
the Department of Agriculture. 

According to the census returns, the crop of 1889 consisted of 
7,434,687 bales, which was somewhat below the average of pre- 
ceding years. This product was distributed as follows among 
the contributing states, arranged in the order of production: 



YIELD OP COTTON IX 1889, BY STATES 



States 


Bales 


States 


Bales 


Texas 


i,470,;r);{ 

1,191,919 
1,154,406 
915,414 
746,798 
69l,4'J:5 
(!59,58;5 
;536.245 


Tennessee 


189,072 
57 928 


Georgia 


Florida 

Missouri 


Mississippi 


14,461 

5,375 

873 

425 


Alabiuna . . 

Soutli Carolina 

Arkansas 


Virginia 

Kentueky 

(Oklahoma 


Ijouisiana 




212 










7,434,687 



It will be seen that Texas, chiefly because of its enormous 
area, pi'oduces a larger amount of cotton than any other state. 
Next in rank are Georgia and Mississippi, in which, most 
emphatically, cotton is king. In the border states, Missouri, 
Virginia, Kentucky, etc., this crop is of very little importance. 
The entire value of the cotton crop of 1889 is estimated at $375,- 
000,000. 

The accompanying maps, on Plate 34, facing page 168. show, 
first, the relative importance of the cotton crop to the state, as 
indicated by the production in bales, compared with the area 
of the state in square miles; and, second, the production of 
cotton to the acre, expressed in fractions of a bale, which may 
perhaps be taken to indicate the relative fertility of the soil and 
the thoroughness of cultivation. 

The latter subject was discussed by Professor Hilgard in 
his report of the tenth census, and he showed that in the eastern 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 36 



'^ 



OATS 



^^ 



/ 






^.x 


/ 




\ 


\ 


/ 


\ 


1 


yd 


# 






\ 


A, 


"? 


■\ 


O 


/ "J 




> 


O 


1- 


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/ < 


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/ 1- 


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P 


o\ 





Ley 



PROPORTIONAL VALUE OF THE PRINCIPAL 
PRODUCTS OF AGRICULTURE IN 1889 



AGRICULTUIIE l7l 

and western cotton states the yield per acre cu]tiva.ted was 
greater than in the middle states of that region. The reason 
he assio'ned was, that in the eastern states cultivation had been 
going on so long that it had become necessary to fertilize the 
fields, which had largely restored them to their original fertility. 
In the middle states of this region the process of depleting the 
soil had gone on to a considerable extent, but renewal by means 
of fertilizing bad not yet commenced; while in the western states 
the soil was still, to a great extent, in its originally fertile condi- 
tion, not having been impoverished by continuous cultivation. 

Hay. — Among agricultural products hay is not generally 
credited with the high rank it deserves. It is one of the 
most valnable of all crops. In 1888 the product amounted to 
47,000,000 tons, and was valued at $408,000,000. It is too 
bulky an article to bear long distance transportation, even when 
compressed ; therefore it is chiefly consumed where grown, and 
is at last disposed of mainly in the form of beef, mutton, and 
pork. The bulk of the crop is raised in the North Atlantic and 
north central states, but little comparatively being produced at 
the south or west. The greatest quantity, in ])roportion to area, 
is raised in Connecticut and New York, followed closely by Iowa 
and Illinois. This distribution is brought out by the upper 
map on Plate 35, facing page 168, showing the number of tons 
raised per square mile of total area. 

Potatoes. — The Irishman's staple is a cosmopolite, being 
cultivated in every state of the Union, but in the northern states 
much more extensively than at the south and west, as appears 
by the lower map on Plate 35, facing page 168. The production 
is greatest in the thickly settled states of the North Atlantic 
group, in several of which it exceeds five hundred bushels per 
square mile of area. In 1888 the total product of this vegetable 
was 202,000,000 bushels, valued at $81,000,000. 

The diagram on Plate 36, facing page 170, shows the relative 
importance of a number of the principal crops in 1889. 

Live Stock on Farms and Ranches. — The total num- 
ber of farm animals in 1892 was 169,100,000, and their value 
was $2,461,000,000. The number and the value of each class 
are set forth in the following table : 



172 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



NUMBER AND VALUE OF FARM ANIMALS IN 1892 





Number 


Value 


Horses 


15,500,000 
3,300,000 
16,400,000 
37,600,000 
44,900,000 
53,400,000 


!|1, 008,000,000 


Mules 


175,000.000 


Cows 

Other cattle 


351,000,000 
570,000.000 


Sheep 

Swine 


116,000,000 
341,000.000 




169,100,000 


$2, 461, 000, 000 



Thus it appears that each farm possesses, on an average, about 
three and one half horses or mules, eleven head of cattle, nine 
sheep, and ten and one-half swine ; or, altogether, thirty-four 
head of live stock, valued at about five hundred dollars. 

Distribution of Live Stock. — The maps on Plates 37 
and 38 illustrate the distribution of horses and mules, cattle 
(including milch cows), sheep, and swine, on farms and ranches, 
expressed in the number of each class per square mile of area. 
This distribution follows in a broad way that of the rural popu- 
lation, with certain distinctive features. Horses and mules arc 
most abundant in the northern states, and diminish southward, 
while at the west they are compai'atively few in number. They 
are most al)undant in proportion to area, in the prairie states, 
ranging from twenty-three per square mile in Illinois and Iowa, 
to twenty in Indiana, 

Cattle are distributed in much the same way, as a rule, but 
the proportion is greater at the west, relatively, than in the case 
of horses, the number being swollen by the immense herds on 
the western ranges, as in the case of Texas, where there are 
thirty cattle to the square mile. The maximum is reached in 
Iowa, with over seventy to the square mile. 

The distribution of sheep shows several marked differences 
from that of cattle. The densest sheep population is found in 
Ohio, where there are one hundred and nine to a square mile, 
nearly three times as many as in any other state ; while at the 
south the number dwindles to six, five, and two to a square 
mile. In certain western states the great herds bring up the 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 37 




NUMBER OF HORSES AND MULES PER SQUARE MILE IN 1892 



--^^T^;— 
















Wyo. / 
I COLO. 
N.M. 


s.DAK. I S^liV H0^20 






f^'''AH 
/a 

ARi^ 


( IOWA \ V^ r-^-^\ 


s^c>/ 


OKLA. A 

JiNO. 
pJTER. 


V ILL. INU.l •) 

ARK. / 1 \q\ 

1 Lss. alaA ga. 


^ 


\x 


^^ 


TEXAS 

20-40 


^-^^ 


^ 



NUMBER OF CATTLE PER SQUARE MILE IN 1892 



i 



77//; I'.IILhISa ()F A XATIOX 
PLATE 38 




NUMBER OF SHEEP PER SQUARE MILE IN 1892 




NUMBER OF HOGS PER SQUARE MILE IN 1892 



I 



AGRICULTURE I73 

density to quite large figures, in spite of the sparse population. 
Thus in California there are twenty-six, in Oregon twenty-five, 
in New Mexico and Utah twentj'-four, and in Texas nineteen, 
to a square mile. 

In the raising of pork New England and the west scarcely 
figure at all. The northern states of the Mississippi valley are 
the most densely populated with hogs. Iowa has one hundred 
and twenty-seven to a square mile, Illinois eighty-five, Indiana 
seventy, and. Ohio sixty-nine. Thence southward the number 
decreases, the razor-backs of Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama 
numbering twentj'-eight to the square mile. 

Irrigation. — In the states and territories of the Cordilleran 
region, with the exception of western Washington and Oregon 
and northwestern California, the rainfall is generally insufficient 
for the needs of agriculture, and throughout this region irriga- 
tion is commonly practiced. This area, in which the farmer is 
dependent mainly upon the streams for a water supply, comprises 
about one and one-fourth million square miles, or two-fifths of 
the area of the United. States, excluding Alaska. The possible 
water supply from this source, supposing it to be entirely utilized 
and with the utmost economy, cannot, it is estimated, supply 
more than one-tenth of the land, only a small part of that 
which, aside from the question of water supply, is arable. 

In this region irrigation, although practiced for many years, is 
still in its infancy. Only one-half of one per cent, of the area 
is under irrigation. With few exceptions, no attempts have yet 
been made to store the waters of the spring floods. Wasteful 
systems of irrigation have grown up, due to the want of broad, 
intelligent plans at the outset; and an enormous waste of water 
goes on, owing to badly devised forms of contract between the 
water companies and the farmers. The usual agreement is to 
supply water for the irrigation of a certain number of acres, not 
to supply a certain amount of water, to be applied by the farmer 
to as many or as few acres as he may judge best. A contract 
calling for a given quantity of water would infallibly lead to 
great economy in its use, and to an increase in its duty. This 
" duty," by which is understood the number of acres irrigated 
by a flow throughout the season of one cubic foot of water per 



174 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



second, ranges widely at the west, from thirty or forty up to one 
thousand acres, depending upon the crop, the soil, the rainfall, 
and the experience and economy of the irrigator. The duty 
has been commonly assumed at one hundred acres, as an aver- 
age ; but as irrigation has developed, the duty has risen, and it 
seems probable that an average of two hundred acres will soon 
be reached. 

The following table shows the area irrigated in each state and 
territory, with the proportion which it bears to the total area of 
the state. From this it appears that Colorado leads, with one 
and one-third per ceat., and that California is second, with one 
per cent. 

IRRIGATED AREA AND TOTAL AREA COMPARED 



Arizona. . . . 
California. . . 
Colorado . . . . 

Idaho 

Montana . . . . 
Nevada . . . . . 
New Mexico 

Oregon 

Utah 

Wasliington . 
Wyoming . . . 

Total . . . 



3,564,416 



Area Irrigated 


Acres 


Per cent, of total 


area of State 


65,821 


0.09 


1,004,233 


1.01 


890.735 


1.34 


317,005 


0.40 


850,583 


0.88 


334,403 


0.82 


91,745 


0.12 


177.944 


0.39 


363,473 


0.50 


48,799 


0.23 


339,676 


0.87 



0.50 



The average first cost of irrigation works is $8.15 ]>er acre. 
To this must be added the cost of bringing the land under culti- 
vation, which is placed at $12.12. The average yearly expense 
of maintaining the works is $1.07 per acre. 

The average value of irrigated lands is $83.28 per acre, and 
the value of the product in 1889 was $1-4.89 per acre. 

Thus it appears that, since the land costs practically nothing, 
the business of constructing irrigation works anil placing land 
under irrigation is, on the whole, a very profitable one. More- 



AGRICULTURE 175 

over, it is argued that these western lands, though requiring 
irrigation, are more profitable for the farmer than eastern lands 
which are blessed with an ample rainfall. The cost of prepar- 
ing the latter for the plow is enhanced not only by the necessity 
of clearing the forest from them, but also by that of fertilizing 
them, a necessity from which the western farmer is relieved, 
since the irrigation water constantly supplies fertilizing ma- 
terial. 

Artesian wells are used as sources of water supply for irriga- 
tion in certain parts of the west, especially for valuable crops, 
such as those of vineyards and market gardens. Altogether 
there are nearly four thousand such wells in use, irrigating 
fifty-two thousand acres, an average of about thirteen acres 
per well. This method is expensive, its cost averaging nearly 
twenty dollars per acre, and owing partly to the expense and 
partly to the necessarily limited supply of underground water, 
it cannot become an important source of supply. 



MANUFACTURES 



ALTHoraiT it is well known tliat the United States is far 
alicad of other countries in respect of tlie agricultural industry, 
and that its mineral ])roduct greatly exceeds that of any other, 
it is not so generally known that this is also the leading manu- 
facturing nation of the globe. The impression prevails that 
our manufacturing industries, as compared with those of the 
mother country, are in an infantile stage and require careful 
nursing to enable them to retain the breath of life; therefore, 
it will doubtless surprise the majority of people to know that 
as a manufacturing nation the United States is far in the lead. 
According to Mulhall, its manufactures exceed those of the 
mother country in the proportion of seven to four, and are 
increasing at a rate which, if maintained for a quarter of a 
century, will make the United States as important a source of 
supply for numufactured articles as it is now of agricultural 
products. 

(TC'iieral Statistics. — Manufactures have had a very rapid 
development. The first statistics of this branch of industry 
were obtained in 1850, when it was found that the capital 
invested was slightly more than half a billion of dollars. In 
1890, forty years later, the invested capital exceeded six billions. 
Wages had increased from two hundred and thirty-seven mil- 
lions to two billions of dollars. The material used increased 
from live hundred and lifty-five millions to nearly five billions 
of dollars, the gross value of the product from a trifle over a 
billion to nearly nine and four-tenths billions, and the net value 
of the product from four hundred and sixty-four millions to four 
and f(mr-tenths billions. The figures for each census are given 
in the following table, expressed in millions of dollars, and in 
thousands of hands employed. 



MANUFA C TURES 



111 



STATISTICS OP MANUFACTURES FROM 1850 TO 1890, BY 
DECADES 



Year 


Capital 


Hands 


Wages 


Material 


Gross Product 


Net Product 


1850 


i,cn 

1,693 

2.7S0 
6,180 


957 
1,311 
3,055 
2,739 
4,665 


337 
379 
500 
948 
2,000 


555 
1,031 
3,000 
3,397 
5.000 


1,019 
1,886 
3,384 
5,370 
9,400 


464 


1860 


855 


1870* 


],884 
1,973 
4,400 


1880 


1890 



* The figures for 1870 have been reduced to gold. 

The figures for 1890 are only approximate, being deduced 
from statistics covering about one-lialf of tbe entire capital, 
wages, material, and product. It is improba1)le, however, that 
the final statistics will rnateriallj change the results, or the con- 
clusions derived from them. 

The rapid development of manufacturing industries is in 
obedience to economic laws already alluded to. The country is 
rapidly filling up, especially in the northeastern states, and as 
the population becomes more and more dense, it passes the point 
at which it can be sustained by the cultivation of the soil. 
Other forms of industry, especially those requiring the aggre- 
gation of people, become necessary; and hence we find that all 
through this part of the country the people are leaving the plow 
for the shop. They are making things instead of raising things. 
In the northeastern states agriculture has made little progress 
during the past quarter of a century, while manufactures have 
made enormous strides. Moreover, the field of manufactures is 
increasing year by year. The frontier of the manufacturing 
industry is spreading westward and southward. In the ten 
years just passed, the south has made enormous strides in manu- 
factures. The bulk of the increase in the cotton manufacturing 
industry has taken place in the southern states where the cotton 
is raised. The manufacture of iron and steel is also increasing 
in that section with wonderful rapidity. Another Pennsylvania 
is growing up in the mountains south of Mason and Dixon's 
line, and in the iron industry will soon rival if not surpass that 
great state. 
12 



178 THE BriLDIXG OF A NATION 

The preceding table. wliii'Ii ^ivi^s a summarv oi the principal 
items relating to numuraetnres for the past forty years, is full of 
information concerning this great industry. A few deductions 
from it will ]M-ove of interest Coupled with the enormous 
extension of manufacturing industries has been a rapid concen- 
tration of them. The number of establisliments has not in- 
creased as rapidly, by any means, as the manufacturing capital, 
for the average capital of each factory' has grown from $4,000 
in 1850 to about $15,000 in 1890, as appears from tlic following 
table : 

AVERAGE CAPITAL INVESTED IN EACH ESTABLISHMENT 

1850 14.000 

1800 T.'^H)0 

1870 ().8(K) 

1880 11.000 

1890 15.000 

The average yearly wages of cmplo^'es have also increased 
almost e<Hitinuo\islv since 1850, the average in 1890 being $-429 
as contrasted with $2-17 forty years earlier. These facts are set 
forth in the followiuo- table : 



AVERAGE WAGES PER HAND EMPLOYED 

1850 $347 

1860 290 

1870 343 

1880 34(5 

1890 439 

The proportion of the net product of manufactures received 
bv employes in the form of wages, has ranged from thirty-six to 
fifty-one per cent. ; it was but little less in 1890 than in 1850, 
despite the immense increase in capital and the iutrodnction of 
machinery. Indeed, while the capital was nearly twelve times 
as large in 1890 as in 1850, the number of hands was less than 
five times as great. The proportions of the net product which 
came to capital and to labor, are set forth in the following table : 



MA NUFACTURES 



179 



PROPORTIONS OF NET PRODUCT SFIARED V>Y EMPLOY^ 
AND IJY CAPITAL 





Employes 


Capital 




1850 

] HOO 


51 
44 
36 
48 
45 


49 
56 
64 
52 
55 




1870 




1 SHO 




18'JO 









A c<niii)ari.sou of the net product with tlie amount of capital 
invested, has produced the table below : it shows that the pro- 
portion between capital and product has steadily diminished 
since 18o0, from eighty per cent, down to seventy-one per cent. 
In the same table is a column showing the proportion which 
the net product, minus wages, bears to capital; from which it 
appears that this proportion, while it has not greatly changed, 
has slightly diminished during the forty years under considera- 
tion. 

RATIO OP NET PliODlCT 'I'O ('AI'ITAL 



IBoO 
IHfiO 
1870 
1880 
18'JO 



Proportion of Net Product 


Proportion of Net Product, 


to Capital 


Minus Wages, to Capital 


87 


43 


85 


47 


83 


52 


71 


37 


71 


39 



Tlie diagram on page 180 shows the jjroducts oi jnaiiufac- 
tures, expressed in millions of dollars, of the leading cities of 
the country in 1890. It will be seen that New York, our great- 
(;st commercial city, is also incomparably our greatest manufac- 
turing city ; that Chicago is second, leading Philadelphia. Then 
there follows a great gap, Brooklyn having less than half the 
manufactures of Philadelphia; Milwaukee stands very high, and 
Washington very low, in proportion to their population. 



180 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



NEW YORK 

CHICAGO 

PHILADELPHIA... 

BROOKLYN 

ST. LOUIS 

BOSTON 

CINCINNATI 

BALTIMORE 

SAN FRANCISCO. 

CLEVELAND 

BUFFALO --. 

MILWAUKEE.... 

PITTSBURG 

NEWARK 

DETROIT 

MINNEAPOLIS.... 

ROCHESTER 

PROVIDENCE.... 
JERSEY CITY.... 

LOUISVILLE 

WASHINGTON.... 

OMAHA 

NEW ORLEANS 
INDIANAPOLIS.... 
KANSAS CITY.... 

ST. PAUL 

DENVER 

ALLEGHENY 



75 150 225 



MILLIONS OF DOLLARG 
300 375 450 525 



eoo 675 750 



PRODUCTS OF MANUFACTURES IN LEADING CITIES IN 1890 



Iron and Steel Manufactures. — Of all the branches of 
manufactures this has claimed and received the fullest protec- 
tion which can be afforded by a protective tariff. There has 
never been a moment, from the time when the first iron furnace 
was established to the present, when this industry was not in 
danger of being overwhelmed and swallowed up by the rapacity 
of the iron men of Great Britain. Such, at least, is the popular 
idea. Since we are engaged in idol breaking, let us see how 
much truth there is in it. How far inferior to the mother 
country are we in the production and manufacture of iron and 
steel? Twenty years ago, in 1872, she produced nearly three 
times as much iron, while our production of steel bore no 
appreciable proportion to hers. In 1890-1-2 we produced 
twelve per cent, more iron than Great Britain ; while in the pro- 
duction of steel we passed her in 1886, and now produce twenty- 
five per cent, more than she does. Thus it would seem that she 
is rather in need of protection against our overgrown industries. 

The accompanying diagram rehearses the history of the iron 
and steel production of this country for the past twenty years. 
The increase since 1872, in the production of pig-iron, was from 



MANUFACTURES 



181 



2,500,000 tons to nearly 10,000,000, and of steel from 160,000 
tons to 5,000,000. The production of both iron and steel has 
been greater during the year 1892 than in an 3^ previous one, 
and this in spite of the low price of these metals. 



MILLIONS 
OF TONS 

10 






















9 


















/ 


/' 


8 


















/ 




7 


















/ 




6 
















/ 


/ 




5 














/ 


/ 






4 










/ 


X 


/ 




.* 




3 








/ 


/ 








/ 








N^ 


^ 


/ 






/ 


•* 






2 




1 _ . 










^,,'' 


*%^ 


.,/ 


















,^' 















iRoia 



;« STEEL 



1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 
ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL 

The manufacture of steel by the Bessemer process began in 
1867, and has increased with the greatest rapidity, until in the 
l)ast year the production amounted to nearly 4,500,000 tons, 
being by far the greater part of all steel j^roduced in that year. 

The rails used in laying our first railways were of iron, and it 
is within the time of the present generation that steel rails were 
first employed. Their use has increased to such an extent, how- 
ever, that they have almost entirely supplanted iron rails, and 
the manufacture of steel rails for both steam and street railways 
has become an enormous industry. In 1892 nearly 1,500,000 
tons of steel rails were manufactured, while the manufacture of 
iron rails has almost entirely disappeared. 

A similar change has taken place in the matter of nails. The 



182 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

maximum production of cut nails has probably been reacbed 
and passed, while the manufacture of wire nails is increasing 
with great I'apidity, and they will doubtless virtually supplant 
cut nails in the near future. 

On June 30, 1890, there were in the United States 562 blast 
furnaces ; of these, 224 were in the state of Pennsylvania. At 
the same date there were 158 steel works, half of which were in 
Pennsylvania. 

Cotton Industry. — The cotton industry is one of the 
largest in the country. It is widely dispersed, cotton manufac- 
tures being found in most of the states ; but its principal seat is 
in New England, where 63 per cent, of the cotton manufacturing 
of the country is carried on. Next in importance are the south- 
ern states, with 23 per cent., or nearly one-fourth. The number 
of factories in 1880 was 756 ; ten years later it had increased to 
904; about one-half of this increase was in the southern states, 
where the industry has developed with great rapidity. In 1880 
the capital invested in cotton manufacturing was $208,000,000, 
and in 1890 it was $354,000,000, having increased 70 per cent, 
or at a much more rapid rate than the number of establishments, 
thus illustrating the greater centralization of the industry. An- 
other expression of this fact is seen in the average capital per 
factory, which in 1880 was $275,000, and had increased in 1890 
to $392,000. The number of hands employed in 1880 was 
174,659, and in 1890 the number was 221,585, an increase of 27 
per cent. During the same period wages had advanced 57 per 
cent.— n e., from $42,000,000 to $66,000,000— showing a notable 
increase in the average pay of the employes. The materials 
used had a value in 1880 of $102,000,000, and in 1890 of $155,- 
000,000, an increase of 51 per cent.; and the product rose in the 
same time from $192,000,000 to $268,000,000, which was at the 
rate of 40 per cent. 

Wool Industry. — The wool industry is strongly estab- 
lished. Its factories are located almost entirely in New England, 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 1890 they num- 
bered 2,503, as against 2,689 in 1880, a marked diminution in 
number. On the other hand, the capital invested in 1890 was 
$297,000,000, as against $159,000,000 ten years earlier. Thus, 



MANUFACTURES 183 

while the factories have been reduced in number, the amount of 
capital has been almost doubled, a striking illustration of the 
tendency toward aggregation in this as well as other industries. 
The number of hands employed increased from 166,557 in 1880, 
to 221,087 in 1890 ; the wages, from $17,000,000 to $77,000,000, 
showing not only a large increase in total wages paid, but an 
increase in the wages paid per hand. Between 1880 and 1890, 
the gross product of the wool manufacturing industry increased 
from $267,000,000 to $338,000,000, a gain of 27 per cent.; while 
the net product, by which is meant the gross product less the 
cost of the raw material, was scarcely increased at all, notwith- 
standing the above-mentioned increase of 62 percent, in the total 
amount of wages paid. 

Silk Industry. — Until recently the manufacture of silk 
was one of the Eepublic's babies. It had been carefully nursed 
and coddled, and for a long time seemed likely to die of anaemia. 
Recently, however, it has taken a new lease of life, and now 
appears able to stand alone. During the past ten years the 
industry has doubled. In 1890 its establishments numbered 
472, with a capital of $51,000,000. It employed over 50,000 
hands, and paid them wages to the extent of $19,700,000; and 
the product of the factories was valued at $87,000,000. 

Books, Periodicals, and Newspapers. — " Of making 
many books there is no end." If this was true when first writ- 
ten, how much more true is it to-day, and of America ! Our 
market for literature is the best in the world, and the supply is 
equal to the demand. The number of books published here is 
not greatly in excess of the number published in Great Britain, 
the total in 1891 being 4,665, exclusive of cheap editions, as 
against 4,429 in the mother country. The excess is seen rather 
in the enormous amount of periodical literature. In 1891 19,373 
periodicals of all classes were published in the United States and 
Canada; of these 837 were Canadian, leaving 18,536 for the 
United States. 

The following table shows the grouping of the whole number, 
as to the period of publication, and also the average and total 
circulation of each group : 



184 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



NUMBER AND CIRCULATION OF PERIODICALS, BY CLASSES 





Number 


ClUCULATION 




Total 


Average 


Weekly 


14,000 

2,025 

1,791 

327 

238 

180 

90 

70 

46 


26,688,250 

11,734,750 

7,085,000 

1,487,500 

484,250 

451,750 

210,250 

100,250 

48,400 


1 903 


INlonthlv 


4 470 


Diiilv./ 


4,800 
4,549 


Semi-mont hlv 


Seiiii-woeklv 


1,824 


Quarterly 


2,509 


Bi-weekly 


2,880 

2,188 


Bi-moiitlily 


'rri-weekly 


1,054 




Total 


19,373 


48,850,500 









Thus it will be seen that the total circulation of all periodicals, 
per issue, is three-fourths of the number of the total population 
of the United States. 

Spirits, AVines, and Malt Liquors. — It has been said 
that, in the olden time, no southerner was thought to be a 
gentleman who did not get drunk at least once a week. It is 
perhaps safe to conclude that matters were mucli the same at 
the north in col(mial days, judging from the quantity of New 
England rum tliat was consumed at house-raisings and kindred 
gatherings. There has been a great improvement in this regard 
within the century ; but a vast amount of liquor of one sort or 
another is still produced and disposed of. 

The following table shows the product of spirituous and malt 
liquors in the year 1891 alone : 



SPIRITUOUS AND MALT LIQUORS PRODUCED IN 1891 

Whisky 44,310,804 gallons. 

Alcohol 12,200,821 

Riuu 1,784,313 

Wines 34,306,905 

Fruit brandy 1,223,775 

Beer 30,021,079 barrels. 



MANUFACTURES 185 

It will be noted that the product for this single year aggre- 
gated more than a gallon of spirits and nearly half a barrel of 
beer for every man, woman, and child in the nation. It is 
gratifying to observe, however, that the use of malt liquors 
is increasing rapidly among all classes, and that these, together 
with light wines, are gradually displacing the great American 
beverage. 



MINERAL RESOURCES 



Beneath the surface of our country lies hidden wealth of 
almost incalculable value. Tlie mineral deposits are enor- 
mous and of the most varied character. Neai-ly every mineral 
and metal valuable in the arts, is mined within our limits. 

The value of the total mineral product of the United States 
in the year 1891, as appears from the statistics collected by the 
United States Geological Survey, footed up the enormous total 
of $668,524,537 ; of this a little less than one-half consisted of 
metals, and a little more than one-half of non-metallic substances. 
The following tables show the principal items of mineral pro- 
duction, expressed in quantities and values, and the diagram 
illustrates their relative values. 

As will be seen, the value of coal, anthracite and bituminous, 
is greater than that of all other non-metallic substances together. 

QUANTITY AND VALUE OP NON-METALLIC PRODUCTS 

IN 1891 





Quantity 


Value 


liituiiiiiious coal 


105,291.721 long tons. 
45,230,992 long tons. 

54,291,980 barrels. 
60,000,000 barrels. 

8,222.792 barrels. 
9,987,945 barrels. 

587,988 long Ions. 
18,392,732 gallons sold. 


$117,100,483 


Pciiiisylvaiiia anthracite 


73.943,735 


Building stone 

Petroleum 


47,294, 74(i 

32,575,188 


Lime 


35.000.000 


Natural gas 


18.000.000 


Cement 


(i. 680. 951 


Salt 


4.716.121 


Pliosphate rock 


3,<i51,150 


Mineral waters 


2,996,259 





MINERAL RESOURCES 



187 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF METALLIC PRODUCTS IN 1891 





Quantity 


Value 


Pi.i,' iron, value at PhiUidelpliia 

Silver, coining value 


8,27!i,«70 long tons. 
58,:!00,000 Troy ounces. 
1.004,840 Troy ounces. 
295,810,070 pounds. 
202,400 short tons. 
80,337 short tons. 
22,904 flasks. 


$128,337,'J8r) 
75 410 505 


(iold, coining value 

( 'oppcr, value at New Yoi'k City. . . . 

Lead, value at New York City 

Zinc, value at New York City 

Quicksilver, value at San Francisco. 


33.175,000 

3«. 455, 300 

17,009,322 

8,033,700 

1,036.380 



COAI 

PIG IRON.. ._ 

SILVER 

BUILDING STONE._. 

LIME 

GOLD 

PETROLEUM 

COPPER 

NATURAL GAS 

LEAD 

ZINC 

CEMENT. 

SALT 

LIMESTONE. 

PHOSPHATE ROCK. 
MINERAL WATERS. 

ZINC WHITE 

QUICKSILVER. 




MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 

6 24 32 40 43 66 64 72 80 83 96 104 1 2 120128 136144 152160 168 



VALUE OF PRINCIPAL MINERAL PRODUCTS IN 1889 

Coal. -Of all our mineral products, coal is probably the most 
widely distributed. It occurs in three-fourths of the states and 
territories, and is mined in thirty, or three-fifths of them. The 
total product of coal for 1891 was 150,528,713 long tons ; of this 
45,236,992 tons were Pennsylvania anthracite, the remainder 
consisting almost entirely of bituminous coal. 

Of the world's coal product, amounting to a little over half a 



188 



TEE BUILDING OF A NATION 



billion short tons, that of the United States was almost precisely 
one-third. Great Britain is the only country that exceeded the 
United States in the coal output of 1891, her total being 185,- 
•i79,126 short tons. 

Nearly all the anthracite coal of the country is produced from 
a limited region in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. A trifling 
amount is mined in Rhode Island aud Colorado, and a little is 
produced from two or three other limited fields. 

The deposits in Pennsylvania have been worked continuously 
since 1820. The demands upon them and the output have 
increased year by year, until, as already stated, this small area 
produced in 1891 the vast quantity of 45,236,992 long tons. 
Their product since 1820 has reached the enormous total of 
853,000,000 tons. 

Bituminous coal exists in all varieties, from what may be 
denominated semi-anthracite, through all grades of softness to 
lignite. The deposits in the eastern })art of the country and in 
the Mississippi valley are of the carboniferous age, and as a rale 
the coal is harder than that in the Rocky mountain region, 
which is of the tertiary or cretaceous age, and in many localities 
grades into lignite. The following table shows the production of 
bituminous coal in the various states for the year 1891: 



COAL PRODUCT OF THE SEVERAL STATES IN 1891 



States 


Total Amount 
Produced 


States 


Total AmouDt 
Produced 


Alabama 


(Short Tons) 

4,759.781 

542,379 

93,301 

3.512.632 

171,000 

15,660.698 

2,973,474 

1,091,032 

3,825,495 

2,716,705 

2.916,069 

3.820,239 

80,307 

2,674,606 

541,861 

1.500 


New IMexit'o 


(Short Tons) 
463 328 


Arkansas 

California 


North Carolina 

North I^akota 


20,355 

30,000 

12 868 683 


Colorado 


Ohio 


Georgia 


Oregon 


51,826 

42,788,490 

500 


Illinois 

Indiana 


Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 


Indian Territory 


Tennessee 


2.413,678 


Iowa 


Texas 

Utah 


172,100 


Kansas 


371,045 


Kentucky • • • 


Virginia . ... 


736,399 
1 056,249 


Maryland 


Washington 

West Vii-ginia 

Wyoming 


Michigan 


9 220,665 


Missouri 


2,327,841 


Montana 

Nebraska 


Total 




117.901.238 









MINERAL RESOURCES 189 

Of the total product, more than one-third comes from the 
single state of Pennsylvania, and about one-half from the two 
states of Pennsylvania and Illinois. Eight states — namely, 
Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, and West Virginia — produce four-fifths of the entire 
bituminous coal output. 

Iron. — Iron ore, like coal, is very widely distributed. There 
are few states or territories in which it does not occur, and in 
1890 it was mined commercially in twenty-eight of them. 
Again, as in the case of coal, its profitable mining depends upon 
the existence of facilities for reaching the market. The produc- 
tion of pig iron in ls91 was 8,279,870 tons, a reduction of nearly 
1,000,000 tons below the product of the j^receding year; this 
reduction was due to the low price of iron, which had thrown 
many furnaces out of blast. 

The principal ores of iron are the sesquioxide and the 
hydrated sesquioxide. The former, commonly known as red 
hematite, constitutes the principal ore mined in the Marquette 
district of Michigan, which supplies fully two-fifths of the entire 
product of the country. Next to Michigan in the production of 
iron is Alabama, which has but recently passed Pennsylvania, 
while both states together yield but little more than half the 
amount produced by Michigan alone. The ores of Alabama are 
jirincipally red hematite and limonite. Those of Pennsylvania 
are mostly magnetite, a variety of hematite, and limonite. New 
York holds the fourth place, with its large deposits of magnetite ; 
it is closely followed by Minnesota and Wisconsin with their 
immense deposits of red Ijematite, which have recently been dis- 
covered and opened. These six states jointly produced more 
than four-fifths of the entire output. 

In 18S9 the production of iron ore in tlie United States was 
one-fourth of the entire product of the globe. It was exceeded 
only by Great Britain, and in 1890 the United States took the 
lead over that country, producing 9,202,703 long tons of pig 
iron, as against 7,904,214 tons by Great Britain. Of the world's 
j)roduction of pig iron, in that year. 26,973,113 tons, the output 
of the United States exceeded one-third. 

In 1882 the production of pig iron by Great Britain was 



190 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



nearly double that of the United States ; but in 1890, onlj 
eight years later, the latter passed the former in production, as 
above stated. The following table shows the production of pig- 
iron in this country and Great Britain in every tenth year since 
1S20: 

PRODUCTION OP PIG IRON IN THE UNITED STATES AND 
GREAT BRITAIN, BY DECADES 



Year 


United States 


Great Britain 


1820 

1830 

1840 


Tons 

22,400 

184,800 

321,331 

632,526 

919,770 

1,865,000 

4,295,414 

9,202,703 


Tons 
400,000 
677,417 
1,396,400 


1850 


2,500,000 


I860 


3,826,752 


1870 


5,963,515 


1880 

1890 


7,749,233 
7,904,214 







Steel. — The production of steel of all kinds in the year 1890 
was 4:,790,319 short tons, nearly all of it being Bessemer steel. 
In the manufacture of steel Pennsylvania stands far in advance 
among the states. 

In the world's production of steel the United States leads all 
other countries ; its product is mucli greater than that of its 
greatest competitor, Great Britain, and nearly double that of 
Germany. Of the entire production of the world in 1890, that 
of this country constituted 3-1.9 per cent, or more than one-third. 

For generations Great Britain had produced this, the metal of 
metals, for the entire world. No greater or niore significant 
industrial victor}^ has been achieved by our country, than that 
of wresting from her brow the iron crown. 

Gold. — Since the days of '49, when gold was discovered in 
the placers of the Sierra Nevada, the United States has been 
the princi})al source of its supply to the world. As the early 
placers were exhausted, others were discovered. When the 
supply from this form of deposits diminished, new forms of de- 
posit were discovered in other places, and thus tlie supply has 
been maintained. 



MINERAL RESOURCES 191 

Starting with a yield of $40,000,000 in 1849, the yearly prod- 
uct lia.s risen and fallen, the maximiiin being $65,000,000 in 1853, 
and the minimum $30,000,000 in 1883. The production in 1890 
was $32,845,000. Of this amount two-fifths was from California, 
which still maintains its position as the Golden State ; over 
$4,000,000 came from Colorado, where gold is mined in connec- 
tion with silver; more than $3,000,000 from Montana, and an 
almost equal amount from the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

To the world's production of gold in 1890, the United States 
contributed 28 per cent., and leading competitors in the produc- 
tion of this precious metal, are Australia, which in 1890 produced 
$30,000,000, and Bussia, wliich produced $21,000,000. 

Silver. — Prior to 1860 the production of silver in the United 
States was trifling. The discovery in 1861 of the Comstock lode 
in Nevada, was the first of a series of discoveries that have placed 
our country far at the front as the leading producer of this metal. 
As in the case of gold, silver is now mined in every state and 
territory of the Cordilleran region. The product has increased 
steadily from the time of the first discoveries, reaching in 1890 a 
total value of $70,485,714. 

For a long time Nevada was the leading state in the production 
of silver; but the decline of the Comstock and Eureka mines, 
together with the discoveries at Leadville, Colorado, and Butte, 
Montana, have placed the latter states far ahead of her in this 
regard. Colorado led in silver production in 1890, her output for 
that year being valued at over $24,000,000 ; Montana followed 
with a production of more than $20,000,000; while Nevada 
had dropped to $5,750,000, being exceeded by Utah with over 
$10,000,000. From the states of Colorado and Montana, and 
Utah Territory, is derived nearly four-fifths of the entire silver 
j)roduct of the nation. 

To the world's production of silver in 1890, the United States 
contributed more than two-fifths. Our leading competitor is 
Mexico, whose product in that year was $50,000,000. 

Copper. — The United States commenced to produce copper 
about the year 1845. the first source of supply being the native 
copper deposits at Keweenaw Point in northern Michigan. The 
production from these deposits increased gradually, and for a 



192 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

long time they were practically the only source of native supply. 
Within a few years deposits of great commercial importance 
have been discovered in Montana and Arizona, and those in 
Montana have been developed to such an extent that in 1890 
their yield was in excess of that in northern Michigan. The 
total production of the country in 1890 was 115,669 long tons — 
twice that of Spain and Portugal, more than four times that of 
Chile, and more than two-fifths of the production of the whole 
world. 

To illustrate the enormous wealth of the Lake Superior de- 
posits, it may be said that in 1876 nine-tenths of all the copper 
in the United States was produced in this district, and that in 
1890 the yield of this district was greater than that of the whole 
country eight years earlier. For a long time one mine in this 
district, the Calumet and Hecla, produced more than all the rest 
of the district; and, indeed, until very recently it has controlled 
the copper market of the world. In 1876 the Calumet and Hecla 
mine contributed one-half of all the copper output of the coun- 
try. Again, in 1890 the product of this mine was one-fourth 
that of the entire country, and one-tenth of the product of the 
world. It has proved a veritable bonanza to its owners. 

Lead. — This country began to produce lead about 1825, and 
the production has increased up to the present time. In 1890 
it was 161,754 short tons. Lead was first mined in the district 
comprising parts of southwestern Wisconsin, northwestern 
Illinois, and northeastern Iowa, a district which is still produc- 
ing, although on a very limited scale. Later, deposits were dis- 
covered in southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas, 
where they are associated with zinc. These mines, especially 
those in Missouri, are still yielding lead in large quantities. 

More recently lead has been mined in the western states and 
territories in connection with silver; their product has increased 
greatly, and now far exceeds that from the more eastern states. 
Thus, of the total product of lead in 1890, that from Colorado, 
mainly from the Leadville district, reached 70,888 tons, or 
nearly one-half the product of the country; Idaho produced 
23,172 tons; Utah, 16,675 tons; and Montana, 10,183 tons. 
These four states and territories collectively contribute more 



MINERAL RESOURCES I93 

than til reo- fourths of the lead product of the entire country. 
Nearly all of that from the more eastern states was produced in 
Missouri, whose yield was 29,258 tons. 

Zinc. — The early production of zinc in this country was 
from deposits in northern New Jersey ; at onetime they yield- 
ed largely, but the production has fallen off greatly in recent 
years. Tlie supply now comes mainly from northwestern 
Illinois, southeastern Kansas, and southwestern Missouri, where 
it is mined in connection with lead. The total product in 1890 
was 68,683 short tons, distributed as follows: 

SOURCES OF THE PRODUCTION OF ZINC IN 1890 

Illinois 26,243 

Kansas 15, 199 

Missouri 13,127 

All other sources 9,114 

03,083 

Quicksilver. — California is practically the only source of 
quicksilver in the United States. Several mines, mainly in the 
Coast ranges, have contributed to the suppl}^ In recent years 
the production has been carefully adjusted to the demand, and 
it is said that the mines now are beginning to show signs of 
exhaustion. Of these deposits, the one known as New Almaden 
is by far the largest, and has a controlling influence upon pro- 
duction. 

Petroleum. — Nearly all the petroleum of the world is pro- 
duced in this country. The only other source of supply of any 
importance is southern Russia, and its competition is scarcely 
felt in the world's market. Within the United States petroleum 
is widely distributed, but the supply comes almost entirely from 
a comparatively limited area in western Pennsylvania, south- 
western New York, and Ohio. Indeed, of the total production 
in 1890, 45,822,672 barrels, not less than 44,582,864 barrels 
were produced in these three states. 

The production and distribution of petroleum are controlled 

by the Standard Oil Company. It is transported from the wells 

to the markets in our large cities by means of pipe lines. The 

economies in its production and transportation have been carried 

13 



194 ^^-^ buiIjDINg of a nation 

to such an extent that the jn-ice, which in 1865 was $6.59 per 
barrel, has been reduced, until in 1886 the average price was 
but eighty-six cents per Ixarrel. 

Niitiiral Gas. — Within the past few years a new source of 
light and heat has beeu discovered in the form of natural gas, 
which has rapidly come into extensive use, not only for domestic 
bat for manufacturing purposes. Its occurrence coincides quite 
closelv with that of petroleum, and within its range of occur- 
rence it has displaced coal to a great extent. In 1890 the con- 
sumption of natural gas is estimated to have been 552,150,000,000 
cubic feet, displacing 9,774,417 tons of coal. 

Salt. — Salt is produced by evaporating the waters of salt 
springs. The supply comes almost entirely from the lower 
peninsula of Michigan and from western New York, The pro- 
duction from all sources, in 1890. was 8,776,991 barrels. 



TRANSPORTATIOX 



With its great extent and variety of climate the United 
States possesses capaVjilities for producing almost everything 
required for the sustenance and comfort of man, and these capa- 
bilities are being rapidly improved. The distribution through- 
out the country of its varied products has developed a domestic 
commerce that is almost fabulous in amount, and the means of 
transportation are upon a corresponding scale. 

Waj^oii Koads. — First in order of mention are the wagon 
roads. Of their extent only an approximate estimate can he 
made. Throughout the densely settled parts of the northeastern 
states they average in length two and one-half miles to each 
square mile, while upon the great western plateau, as a rule, the 
roads are few and far between. It is probable that, taking the 
country over, there is nearly a mile of road to each square mile 
of area ; this would make a total of three million miles of wagon 
roads, including all that through courtesy can be so designated. 

Taken as a whole, the wagon roads of the United States are 
poorly built; to speak more correctly, they are not built at all. 
Little attention has been paid to the selection of easy grades or 
direct routes, but they have generally been laid out to suit the 
convenience of the farms through which they run. The con- 
struction of roads, as a rule, is limited to grading and leveling, 
and practically none of them have been paved in any way, at 
least beyond the outskirts of the cities. In the northern states 
the roads are commonly kept in good repair, as regards grading 
and leveling, and in dry weather, as a rule, they are tolerably 
good for travel. 

In the southern states, on the other hand, the roads as a 
class are very bad. The aim appears to be to work them as 
little as possible, consistent with mere passability A large 



196 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

proportion, indeed one might almost say a majorit}', are almost 
impassable for wheeled vehicles. In very recent years a strong 
movement has arisen in behalf of better roads, and it is to be 
hoped that this movement will result in a general and marked 
improvement of their quality. 



RAILWAYS 

The railway system of the United States, considering the 
stage of settlement, is the most complete of all the countries 
of the earth. It supplements to a great extent the system of 
wagon roads, and not only excuses but explains their poor 
average quality. In few parts of the country are extended 
highways required. Transportation by wagon road is every- 
where toward the railway, and, therefore, highways between 
points at a distance from one another are but little needed. In 
no respect, perhaps, have the Americans shown their good sense 
and foresight more forcibly than in the rapid extension of rail- 
way transportation. 

Extent. — At the end of the calendar year 1891 there were 
in the United States not less than 171,018 miles of railway, an 
average of one linear mile to 17.5 square miles of area, exclud- 
ing Alaska. This proportion of linear miles to area differs 
widely in different states; it is greatest in Massachusetts, where 
there is a mile of railway to each 3.73 square miles; and least 
in Nevada, where there is but one mile of railway to 121 square 
miles of area. This enormous railway system, which has cost 
nearly ten thousand millions of dollars, and which transports each 
year many billions of passengers and many billion tons of freight, 
has grown up entirely within a little over sixty years. The dia- 
gram on page 197 shows its trifling beginnings, and its rate of 
growth each year, from 1830 to the present time. 

The railway system of the United States is perhaps one 
of the finest examples to be found of the nice adaptation of 
means to ends, so characteristic of Americans. In the densely 
settled parts of the country, where railway traffic is heav}', the 
construction and equipment are of the best in all respects. The 



TRANSPOR TA TION 



197 



10 20 30 40 50 



THOUSANDS OF MILES 
60 70 80 90 100 110 



120 130 140 150 160 170 




RAILWAY MILEAGE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1830 TO 1890 



198 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and other roads of the 
northeastern states, are, in everything that contributes to the 
safety and comfort of travel, and in the capacity and facilities 
for transporting freight, unequaled upon the globe. 

But upon the frontier, where the present demands of traffic 



UNITED STATES 

EUROPE 

GERMANY 

FRANCE 

GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND.. 

RUSSIA 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY _... 

BRITISH INDIA 

CANADA 

ITALY 

SPAIN 

BRAZIL 

MEXICO 

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 

SWEDEN 

BELGIUM 

VICTORIA 

NEW SOUTH WALES 

ALGIERS&TUNIS 

QUEENSLAND 

NEW ZEALAND 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

CAPE COLONY 

CHILE 

SWITZERLAND 

NETHERLANDS 

ROUMANIA 

PORTUGAL 

DENMARK 

NORWAY 

TURKEY IN EUROPE... j 
BULGARIA &R0UMELIA j'- 

CUBA 

PERU 

JAPAN 

EGYPT.... 

DUTCH POSSESSIONS 

ASIATIC RUSSIA 

CENTRAL AMERICA 



RAILWAY MILEAGE OF THE WORLD FOR 1890, BY COUNTRIES 



are slight, railways are built and equipped in the cheapest man- 
ner possible. A poor railroad is, however, vastly better than 
none, and under such traffic conditions it would be folly to build 
an expensive one. Thus the traveler finds the quality of the 
roadbed, equipment, and train service, closely associated with the 
density of population. 

The above diagram shows the railway mileage of the principal 



TRANSPOR TA TION 



199 



7.50 15.00 22.50 30.00 37 



WEST AUSTRALIA 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

QUEENSLAND 

CANADA 

NEW ZEALAND. 

UNITED STATES 

TASMANIA 

ASIATIC RUSSIA.. 

VICTORIA 

NEW SOUTH WALES 

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 

CAPE COLONY 

SWEDEN 

CHILE 

CUBA 

URUGUAY 

SWITZERLAND 

FRANCE 

NEWFOUNDLAND 

DENMARK 

BELGIUM 

GERMANY 

GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND.. 

NORWAY 

NATAL 

MEXICO 

PARAGUAY 

NETHERLANDS 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY , 

BRAZIL 

PERU 

ALGIERS & TUNIS 

SPAIN 

PORTUGAL 

ROUMANIA 

ITALY 

MALTA, JERSEY & MAN 

CENTRAL AMERICA.. 

VENEZUELA 

RUSSIA 

GREECE 

ECUADOR 



50 45.00 52.50 60,00 67,50 75.00 




90.00 



97.50 



05.00 



111 2.50 



MILES OF RAILWAY PER 10,000 INHABITANTS, 
BY COUNTRIES. IN 1890 



200 TlIK BUTTAUNCr OF A NATION 

countries of the gK>})0, niul tliat on page 199 the mileage of 
eacli oountrv in proportion to population. 

Tiie railway mileage of the United States is to-tlay much 
greater than that of the whole of Europe, and is rapidly gaining 
on that of the rest of the globe. Instead of showing any signs 
of being eoiupleted, it is extending more rapidly than ever. 
Almost as many miles have been built in the past ten years, as 
were in operation at the beginning oi that decade. In a single 
year, 1887, nearly as many miles were built as the entire number 
of miles in operation throughout England and Wales. 

GENERAT. STATISTICS 

The following statistics, taken from the report of the Inter- 
state Commerce Commission, show the volume of business and 
other interesting facts for the year ending June 30, 1890: 

RAILWAY CAPITAL, ()PKRATI^'Li EXPENSES, EARNINGS, ETC. 

Miles of railway l(i;},597 

Capital and fmulod dohl, assunu'd to W Die cost 

of construction 19,871,378,889 

Cost of construction iier mile 60,340 

Gross earnings. 1,051,877,033 

Operating expciises 092,093,971 

Income from operations 359,783,001 

Other income 120,707,064 

Total income 408.550,725 

All deductions from income 384,792.138 

Net income 101,758,587 

Dividends declared 89,088,304 

Surplus 12,070.383 

The cost of construction as here given is almost equally 
divided between capital stock and funded debt. Dividends, as 
will be noted, amount to only about two per cent, on the capital 
stock, showing that railways per se are not. as a whole, profit- 
able property. But, as will be shown hereafter, they are fre- 
quentlv built as means to ends rather than for direct profit. 

Trattic Statistics. — To what extent does the railwav 



TRANSPOR TA TJON 20 1 

system serve tlie public? What is the volume of its traffic? 
These queries are answered by the following figures : 

liAILWAV 'JliAFFIC V<)\1 TIIH YEAR ENDING JCNE 30, WM) 

Number of pusseiigor.s cairieil 402,430,865 

Number of passengers carried one mile 11,847,785,017 

Average journey per passenger (miles; 24.00 

Number of tons of freight carried 630,541,017 

Number of tons of freight carried one mile 70,207,047,2J<8 

Average carry of each ton of freight Cmiles) 119.72 

From the above iigures concerning the [passenger movement 
on railways, an idea may be obtained of the extreme mobility 
of the population. It jippears, supposing each person in the 
United States to have traveled an equal amount during tbe year, 
that the distance traveled by each was one hundred and ninety 
miles. The extent of the freight movement, the internal com- 
merce by rail, may be summarized by the statement that for 
each inhabitant over ten tons of freight are moved annually to 
a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles. 

Of the total earnings of all the railways, 29.41 per cent, are 
derived from passenger travel and 68.23 per cent, from freiglit 
traffic. 

Organization. — This great system is held under 1,797 
different corporate bodies, but it is operated almo.st entirely by 
but 747 of them, the property of the remainder being either 
leased or operated under other forms of contract. 

Consolidation. — The tendency of railway property is 
toward consolidation. Although built originally as .short lines 
with numerous ownens, connecting lines have been merged, 
until now the greater part of this enormous system is in few 
hands. Indeed, consolidation has gone so far that forty com- 
panies are to-day opjerating no less than 77,872 miles of railway, 
or 47.51 per cent, of the whole. Again, seventy-five companies 
operate 102,305 miles, or 65.41 per cent, of the entire mileage of 
the country ; that is, one-tenth of the operating companies of 
the United States control nearly two-thirds of the entire sy.stem. 
If we consider the extent of traffic, the proportion is still 



202 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

greater, for the gross revenue of these seventy -five companies 
is no less than 80.51 per cent of the entire gross revenue of the 
system. These roads do 83.56 of all the railway passenger traffic, 
and carry 85.38 per cent, of all the freight. 

The process of consolidation is going on as rapidly as ever, 
and it is hard to say whether it will stop short of the formation 
of one vast system for the United States. It is easy to decry 
the tendency and to describe the dangers attendant upon the 
formation of such enormous corporations. To the traveling 
public, however, and the traveling public constitute the people, 
it is unnecessary to point out the great advantages incident to 
consolidation — the increased rapidity, safety, and comfort of 
traveling, and the reduction in rates. 

It is said that consolidation between railways serves to elimi- 
nate competition. This may be true as regards the competition 
of other railways, but the people supply an element of com- 
petition which is not generally considered. Railway travel is 
measurably a luxury, and with high rates people refrain from in- 
dulging in it unnecessarily, and traffic is thereby reduced. The 
prices of many commodities cannot bear high freight rates, and 
when they exceed a certain amount, a reduction in freight 
traffic is seriously felt. In these ways the public acts as a com- 
petitor of the railroads, to a large extent unconsciously as far as 
the public is concerned, but the railway manager feels it to the 
utmost and bows before it. 

Cost of Transportation. — By means of this consolidation 
which we are so fond of decrying, the cost of transporting 
freight and passengers by rail has been reduced to an amount 
that seems almost trifling. During the year under considera- 
tion, that ending June 30, 1890, the average cost to the railway 
of transporting a passenger one mile was but 1.917 cents, while 
the revenue to the road of such transportation was 2.167 cents. 
As to freight, the average expense to the railway attendant upon 
moving a ton of freight one mile was .604 of a cent, and the 
receipts of the road for such service were .941 of a cent. In 
other words, to move a ton of freight from Chicago to New 
York, the distance being about a thousand miles, cost in the 
neighborhood of $6 ; to carry a barrel of flour the same distance, 



TBANSPOR TA TION 203 

cost 60 cents. On this basis the entire yearly food supply for a 
family of five persons can be transported a thousand miles for 
the sum of $9. 

Rolling Stock. — For the same year, ending June 30, 1890, 
there were in service 29,928 locomotives, 25,511 passenger cars, 
and 913,580 freight cars. These, with special cars of various 
kinds, made a total service of 1,164,188 cars. These figures 
may be compared with the length of railway lines, as follows : 
The number of locomotives to each hundred miles of line was 
19 ; of passenger cars, 17 ; of freight cars, 548 ; and of total 
cars, 774. As to the service afforded by this equipment, the 
number of passengers carried per locomotive was 58,735 ; and 
the passenger mileage carried per locomotive, 1,413,142. Simi- 
larly, the number of tons of freight was 49,433, and the freight 
mileage per locomotive, 4,721,627. 

The addition of the train brake is probably the most impor- 
tant among the modern improvements in connection with rail- 
way travel. Practically all passenger trains are now ecj^uipped 
with it, mainly with the Westinghouse air brake, and more 
than one-half of tlie freight engines are thus equipped. Auto- 
matic couplers have been adopted almost universally upon pas- 
senger cars ; but as yet very few freight cars are equipped with 
them, and to this more than any other cause is to be attributed 
the large number of accidents among train employes. 

Accidents. — Statistics for 1890 show that of a total of 
749,300 employes of our railway system, 2,451 were killed and 
22,396 injured during that year. It is unnecessary to add that 
these accidents occurred largely in the coupling and uncoupling 
of cars and in braking freight trains. The number of passen- 
gers killed during the same year was but 286, and but 2,425 
were injured, a rate of mortality so trifling that one is tempted 
to join with Mark Twain in advocating railway travel as con- 
ducive to long life. 

Objects of Construction. — There is one very suggestive 
item in the foregoing statistics ; namely, the proportion that the 
dividends bear to the stock. This, as already stated, is about 
two per cent, showing that railway property on the whole, and 
in itself, is by no means profitable. 



204 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

While nuiny, perhaps most, railways have been built for the 
profits to be derived from their operation, a large proportion 
were constructed rnainlv as a means to an end, that end being 
the creation of an increase in values along the line of the road. 
It is partly with this object in view that railway's have been 
extended so rapidly into unsettled regions, especially at the far 
west, and have thus paved the way to settlement. It goes with- 
out saying that most of these enterprises have not only lined 
the pockets of their projectors, but have increased the general 
wealth and well-being in thus developing the sections through 
which they run. 

Many railways, however, are built for other purposes. Every 
system has its " territory," in which it seeks to maintain a sort 
of sovereignty. In self-defense against the encroachments of a 
rival, it is often forced to build and operate branches which 
it knows will not pay of themselves, at least for many 
years. 

Again, many railways are built far into unsettled regions 
for the purpose of controlling the traffic which it is foreseen will 
be supplied wlien, through their agency, the country sliall have 
become settled. 



ENGINEERING WORK 

Not only our railways, but the bridges, canals, dams, and all 
other like constructions, are characterized by a close adaptation 
of means to ends, of construction to special requirements and 
conditions. 

Yet nothing is more common than to hear our engineering- 
work decried by Europeans and by Europeanized Americans, on 
the score of lack of thoroughness in construction. Such criti- 
cisms do not take into account the peculiar conditions of our 
environment. They are rather the outgrowth of ignorance than 
of superior knowledge. Of all the peoples under the sun, the 
Americans have the keenest appreciation of the importance of 
adapting their structures to the necessities of the situation. 
Thus they build a Brooklyn and a St. Louis bridge to last for 



TRANSPORTATION 205 

all time ; and in the same breath, as it were, thej build a wooden 
trestle over the Platte, in Wyoming, to last only until the traffic 
will warrant a more durable structure. 

An American engineer knows what he is about when he 
builds the cheapest jwssible railwa}' across the sparsely settled 
plains. The same engineer would build an entirely different 
sort of road in New York, and in building it would be guided 
by the same principles which obtained in the Dakotas; that is, 
of fitting means to ends. 

As in railway and bridge construction, so it is in mining and 
irrigation works. No greater injury has been done to our min- 
ing interests than by the introduction of German engineers, with 
their peculiar ideas of thoroughly exploiting mines and erecting 
expensive reduction works, before taking out ore. Hundreds of 
valuable properties have been wrecked by such mismanagement, 
wrongly characterized as conservatism. 

The same is true as to irrigation. Man}' an enterprise has 
been ruined by an engineering plan too elaborate and thorough 
for the prevailing financial conditions. The American engineer 
commonly understands and considers them, while the English or 
German engineer is too apt to look only at the engineering 
aspects of the case, and to shut his eyes to its financial 
side. 

A generation ago tlie foreign-bred engineer was highly re- 
garded, and much dependence was placed on him. To-day the 
American-bred engineers, the graduates of Boston, Yale, Colum- 
bia, Troy, Lehigh, and a score of other schools, have come to 
the front, and Americans realize that only through American 
training can be obtained a just appreciation of American needs 
in engineering matters. 

We have built cheap railways on the frontier because we need 
railways there, and because thoroughly built ones would not pay 
interest on the investment. We have built cheap bridges for 
the same reason, and so on. This has not resulted from any 
inherent disposition to do cheap work, but because of our delib- 
erate, thoughtful conclusion that it was the best thing to do 
under the prevailing conditions. That we can do the other 
thing is shown by numberless examples which throw in the 



206 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

shade any engineering works of foreign countries, not only 
for boldness of conception, but also for thorougliness of con- 
struction. 

Among these are the great suspension bridges over the East 
Kiver at New York, and over the Niagara at the Falls ; the great 
steel arches which span the Mississippi at St. Louis, the score 
or more of steel and iron trusses which bridge the Father of 
Waters, and the jetties which have made a seaport of New 
Orleans. These illustrate one class of our engineering triumphs, 
and our railway system illustrates another. 

We have built railways everywhere. A generation ago, 
when wishing to pay a tribute of praise to our railway 
engineers, we were accustomed to say that they could build 
a railway wherever a wagon-road could go. But the railway 
soon outgrew that saying. It outgrew the possibilities of a 
pack-road, and now there are few paths accessible to a moun- 
tain sheep which cannot be followed by a locomotive. If a 
mountain side, it scales it by loops, by switch-backs, or by a 
cog- rail ; if it be a close canon, the road is hung from the 
canon walls; if every other device fails, with true American 
directness the engineer drives a tunnel through the obstacle 
and finds a route on the other side. 



WATER TRANSPORTATION 

The merchant fleet of the United States is of enormous dimen- 
sions, far beyond popular belief. Much has been written about 
the decadence of American shipping, and, so far as foreign trade 
is concerned, the amount has, indeed, diminished greatly. But 
this diminution in shipping engaged in foreign trade, has been 
far more than counterbalanced by the increase of that engaged 
in domestic traffic. The number of vessels engaged in both for- 
eign and domestic trade, in the year 1890, was 25,540, and their 
tonnage was 7,633,676. Compare this with the merchant fleet 
of the United Kingdom, the queen of the seas. She had in the 
same year a tonnage of 7,915,836, which is only a trifle larger 
than that of our own fleet. 



TRANSPOR TA TION 207 

The shipping of the United States may be classified as fol- 
lows : 

CLASSIFICATION OP THE AMERICAN FLEET 

CLASSES TONS 

Engaged in foi'eign trade 928,062 

Coast-wise trade * 2,385,879 

Lake trade 926,355 

River traffic 3,393,380 

These vessels may be classified again as follows : 

CLASSES TONS 

Steam vessels 1,820,386 

Sailing vessels 1,795,443 

Unrigged vessels 4,017,847 

The fleet has a total value exceeding $215,000,000, and em- 
ploys 106,436 men. 

Vessels Engaged in Foreign Trade. — The tonnage of 
vessels engaged in foreign trade increased, quite steadily up to the 
beginning of the late civil war, when it reached a total, in 1S61, 
of 2,496,894: tons. The risks attendant upon this class of prop- 
erty during the war produced a rapid diminution, which has 
continued with scarcely a break until the present time. In 1890 
the tonnage was almost precisely the same as in 1846, fifteen 
years before the beginning of the war. 

But this is not the whole story. In 1820 the United States 
surpassed all other countries in foreign trade. Its ships were 
more frequently seen in foreign ports than those of any other 
nation. At that time commenced the decadence of its merchant 
marine relatively to that of other countries, and the civil war 
was but an episode that hastened the change. To understand 
the cause of this decadence it is necessary to go behind the facts 
as they appear on the surface. The real cause was not the civil 
war, although that doubtless aided it to some extent. Neither 
was it the tariff nor the onerous navigation laws, although they 
have had their influence in hastening what was inevitable under 
the prevailing conditions. Nor was it due to a change from sails 



208 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

to steam as a motive power, for the Americans are as competeDt 
to build steamers, and iron steamers at that, as are the people of 
any other nation. 

The fact is simply that American capital finds better invest- 
ments at home in the development of home industries, than in 
competing with the older countries upon the sea. The situation 
may be summed up as follows: So long as capital can earn ten 
per cent, upon the land, it is folly to expect it to invest in ships 
which can earn but five per cent. The question may be asked 
why it was that up to 1820 there was a rapid development of 
the maritime interests of the nation. To this comes the ready 
answer that, up to that time, the nation had been extremely slow 
in developing its internal resources. We had not realized in 
any degree the capabilities of the domain to which we had fallen 
heir. 

In 1890 the total tonnage of vessels cleared from American 
for foreign ports, was 18,148,862. Of this but 4,066,757 tons 
were American ; the remainder, 14,082,105, being represented by 
vessels sailing under foreign flags. Of the latter, vessels repre- 
senting 5,687,053 tons sailed under the flag of the United King- 
dom. 

Coast and Internal Traffic. — The tonnage engaged in 
coast-wise traffic has increased steadily since our earliest history. 
That upon the Great Lakes, commencing at a comparatively 
recent date, has increased with the greatest rapidit}^ and amounts 
to very nearly as much as the entire foreign traffic of the 
country. 

The river traffic, which has always heretofore been underesti- 
mated, is of enormous dimensions, the tonnage engaged in such 
traffic being greater than that u|)on the Atlantic, Gulf, and 
Pacific coasts. It is of a peculiar character ; the freight is car- 
ried mainly in barges towed by steamers, the outfit resembling 
in its essential features a freight train drawn by a locomotive. 
These barges are of considerable capacity, and average nearly 
five hundred tons each. 

The amount of freight moved by water in 1890, exclusive of 
that moved on canals, was 172,110,423 tons, classified as fol- 
lows : 



TRANSPORTATION 209 



FREIGHT MOVED BY WATER IN 1890 

Atlantic coast 77,597,626 tons. 

Gulf of Mexico 2,864,906 •' 

Pacific coast 8,818,36:3 " 

Great Lakes 53,424,432 " 

Rivers 29.405,046 " 

Total 172,110,423 " 

This total is not great as compared with the railway traffic of 
the country, by which 636,541,617 tons were carried in the same 
year, the average distance carried by the two means of transporta- 
tion being, perhaps, not greatly different. 



COMMERCE 

The commerce of the United States is of enormous magni- 
tude ; but by far the greater part of it is internal, consisting in 
an interchange of products between different sections. The 
country is broad. It extends from the northern temperate zone 
nearly to the tropics, and there is a corresponding difference in 
its products ; the wheat, oats, and ice of the north being ex- 
changed for the cotton, sugar, and tropic fruits of the south. 
East, west, north, and south, the railwa^^s, rivers, and canals are 
busied with the interchange of commodities. 

The extent of this interchange may be understood from the 
statement made above, that no fewer than 76,207,047,298 tons of 
merchandise were transported one mile in the year 1890 by the 
railways alone. The average journey of each ton of freight was 
about 120 miles, and the number of tons carried that distance 
was 636,541,617. By vessels on rivers, and by coast-wise traffic, 
172,110,423 tons were carried; and while the average distance 
transported is not known, in all probability it was not materially 
different from that of transmission by rail. Assuming them to 
be equal, it appears that the internal commerce of the United 
States in 1890, excepting that by canal, reached a total of over 
800,000,000 of tons transported an average distance of 120 miles. 
This is truly a commerce of colossal proportions. 
14 



210 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Foreign Coinmerce. — How does this compare in magni- 
tude with our external commerce ; /.<?., that with foreign coun- 
tries? Here we find it difficult to bring things to common 
terms. Our foreign commerce is given by the Bureau of Statis- 
tics in money value, not in terms of weight. But the statistics 
of entry, and clearance from American for foreign ports, show 
that in the year 1892, vessels aggregating about 16,000,000 tons 
entered with cargoes, and that 19,000,000 tons cleared, a total of 
about 35,000,000 tons, which figures may fairly be assumed to 
represent approximately the volume of our foreign trade. It 
will be seen at once that our foreign trade is in volume but 
a bagatelle compared with the domestic trade, being in the pro- 
portion of 35 to 800, or about 1 to 24. 

The volume does not, however, represent the value, since our 
exports to foreign countries have, on the average, a much higher 
value per ton than the commodities which we transport from 
one part of this country to another. These exports have a value 
of about one billion dollars annually. The annual product from 
our industries foots up at least ten billions in value, and of this 
we export only about one-tenth. 

Therefore, whether we consider the volume or the value of 
our foreign trade, it is a matter of secondary importance as com- 
pared with our domestic trade. 

This result may be attributed to two causes, but mainly to 
the second of them : first, our high tariff, which, by raising the 
scale of prices in this country, tends to make it nnprofitable to 
sell abroad, where the prices are lower ; second, the fact that with 
our great extent of country, our great variety of products, and 
the large population to be supplied, we have a home market 
sufficiently large and varied in its demands and its supplies, to 
render ns almost independent of the rest of the world. There 
are few commodities, either of necessity or luxury, which we 
do not produce within our borders. A few products of the 
tropics we find it necessary to obtain from more southern lati- 
tudes. A few manufactured articles we still import from Eu- 
rope. The latter we will soon supply in the requisite quantity 
and of the requisite quality. It will be of interest to note these 
articles of import from abroad, and to compare with them those 



TRANSPORTATION 211 

c^iven in exchange. The principal imports for the year 1891, in 
the order of importance, are as follows : 

VALUE OF PRINCIPAL IMPORTS IN 1891, CLASSIFIED 

ARTICLES VALUE 

Sugiir, inohisses, etc $108,458,021 

Coffee 96,123,777 

Iron and steel manufacturos 5;),544,372 

Chemicals 47,;517,();n 

Flax, hemp, jute, and manufactures 45,;!1(),799 

Woolen manufactures 41,00(),()S() 

Silk goods 37,880, 143 

Hides, furs, etc 37,759,()08 

Cotton goods 29.712, ()24 

Fruits and nuts 25,983,136 

Wood and manufactures 19,888^, 186 

Silk, raw, and cocoons 19,076,081 

Wools 18,231,372 

India-rubber and gutta-perclia, crude 18,020.804 

Tobacco and manufactures 10,768,141 

Jewelry and precious stones 14,635,494 

Leather and manufactures 12,683,803 

Wines 10,007,060 

The leading exports given in exchange the same year, are as 
follows : 

VALUE OF PRINCIPAL EXPORTS IN 1891, CLASSIFIED 

ARTICLES VALUE 

Cotton $290,712,898 

Provisions, comprising meat and (hiiry products .... 139,017.471 

Wheat and wlieat-flour ]()0, 125,888 

Mineral oils 52,026,734 

Cattle 30.445,249 

Iron and steel, and their manufactures 28.909,014 

Wood, and its manufactures 2(5.270.040 

Tobacco, and manufactures of 25,220,472 

Maize 17,052,687 

Cotton manufactures 13,604,857 

Leather, and manufactures of 13.278,847 

Copper, and manufactures of. including ore 11.875,490 

These articles of import and ex[)ort ai'c illustrated in the dia- 
grams on page 212. 

Thns, with the exception of a few agricultural products which 
our climate does not permit us to produce, our imports consist 



212 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



IMPORTS 

SUGAR AND 

MOLASSES 



COFFEE 



IRON AND STEEL 
MANUFACTURES- 



CHEMICALS- 



FLAX, HEMP AND 
JUTE MANUF... 



WOOL MANUF 

SILK GOODS 

HIDES AND FURS 

COTTON GOODS 

FRUIT 



WOOD MANffF.. 



EXPORTS 

COTTON 



PROVISIONS 

WHEAT AND FLOUR 

MINERAL Oil 

CATTLE 

IRON AND STEEI 

WOOD MANUF 

TOBACCO 



VALUES IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 



PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOREIGN COIVIMERCC 



TRANSPOR TA TION 



213 



of maniifacturecl articles. Our exports, on the contrary, consist 
almost entirely of agricultural products. Our farms produce 
more than we I'equire. Our factories are not yet equal to the 
supply of the home market, and this in the face of the fact that 
we are the leading manufacturing nation of the globe, as well as 
the first ill aorriculture. 



MILLIONS OF 
DOLLARS 




1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, 1843 TO 1892 



1890 



The total value of our foreign trade in 1892 was $1,842,000,- 
000 ; of this $827,000,000 consisted of imports, and $1,015,- 
000,000 of exports. The balance of trade was in our favor, and 
has been so, with scarcely an exception, for twenty years. The 
above diagram shows tlie value of our imports and exports 
for the past half century. Our principal foreign trade is with 
Great Britain, with which country it amounted in 1892 to 
over $650,000,000; $494,000,000 being exports to, and but 
$156,000,000 imports from, that country. We send her mainly 
raw cotton, meat, and breadstuffs, an<l receive from lier a great 
variety of manufactured articles. 

Next in rank are Germany and France, with which coun- 



214 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



tries we traded to the extent of $187,000,000 and $167,000,000, 
respectively. In the case of both these countries the balance 
of trade was against us, and the articles of exchange were quite 
similar to those in the case of Great Britain. To Brazil we sent 
but $14,000,000 worth of goods, and received from her not less 
than $119,000,000 worth, most of it being coffee. With Canada 
we had a limited exchange of commodities amounting to 
$78,000,000, exports and imports being almost equal in amount. 
To Cuba we sent but $18,000,000, while we received from that 
island $78,000,000, mainly sugar, molasses, and tobacco. 

Of the entire products of our farms, mines, and factories, it is 
estimated that less than nine per cent, are exported. Of the agri- 
cultural products alone, this country spares for the sustenance of 
foreign lands fully one-fourth. Of the product of its mines, it 
sends abroad about one-fifth ; while of its manufactured prod- 
ucts, not over three per cent, go to foreign consumers. 

About two-thirds of our cotton crop are annually exported, 
mainly to Great Britain. Of our wheat crop, about one-fifth 
goes abroad, and of corn only one-twentieth, the remainder find- 
ing consumers at home. 

Sliiiibviildiiig. — The building of vessels, though by no 
means a prominent industry, is not a lost art among our people. 
In 1892 1,395 vessels, with a total tonnage of very nearly 200,- 
000 tons, were built upon our shores. These were as follows : 

NUMBER AND TONNAGE OP VESSELS BUILT IN 1892 



Sailing vessels 
Steam vessels 
Canal boats . . . 
Barsres 




Tonnage 



83,217 

92,581 

4,580 

19,305 

199,633 



It should be added that the tonnage constructed in 1892 was 
greater than for many years previous, which suggests a possible 
revival of this industry. 



TRANSPOR TA TION 215 



TELEGRAPH LINES 

The telegraph lines are almost entirely in the hands of one 
corporation, the Western Union Telegraph Company, which has 
absorbed all competing companies, and holds almost as complete 
a monopoly of the telegraph, business as does the general govern- 
ment that of the business of carrying the mails. In 1892 there 
were 189,576 miles of telegraph line in the United States, on which 
were strung 739,105 miles of wire. The railroad is evei"ywliere 
accompanied by the telegrapli, and the latter extends but little 
beyond the former. Tlie number of offices maintained in 1890 
was 20,700, and the number of messages sent during the year 
was in excess of 62,400,000, being nearly one message for every 
man, woman, and child in the country. The average charge per 
message was 31.6 cents. In this as in the postal service, the prof- 
its from the lines between the great cities are enormous; on the 
other hand, many thousands of miles of line and thousands of 
offices are maintained at a loss to the company. The receipts 
from the telegraph service, in 1890, reached an aggregate of 
$23,700,000, the expenses were $16,300,000, and the profits 
$7,400,000. 

TELEPHONES 

Among the agencies of transportation the telephone must be 
classed with the telegraph. Although of recent introduction, 
its use has spread and increased with wonderful rapidity. The 
entire service is practically in the hands of one concern, the 
American Bell Telephone Company, the other companies being 
of trifling importance. In 1892 the capital invested in the tele- 
I)hone interests, including both the parent company and its sub- 
sidiarj^ companies, was $80,000,000, the great bulk of it proba- 
bly representing franchises. The gross earnings of the parent 
company alone were $5,127,000, and its net dividends -were 
$1,320,000 The number of instruments in use was 512,417; the 
number of miles of wire, 266,456 ; and the number of subscribers 
served, 216,017. 



216 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



STREET RAILWAYS 

The street railway is an American iiiventiou. Long before it 
occurred to the people of any other nation that the means of 
locomotion afforded by nature were deficient in the element of 
speed, we set about the worii of supplying the deficiency. 
More than a generation ago the streets of our larger cities were 
intersected by lines of railway over which cars were drawn by 
liorses or mules ; and in 1891 we had, in all, 9,662 miles of street 
railway. 

It is only witliin recent years that substitutes have been found 
for horse-power. The cable system was the first to materialize, 
and it has been applied widely and with economy on routes pos- 
sessing a heavy traffic. Still more recently methods have been 
devised for using electricity ; the one most highly developed, 
and at present the most economical, both as regards the trans- 
mission of power and economy of construction, is that known as 
the overhead trolley system. The underground trolley, which 
involves heavy expense in construction, is coming into use, and 
is likely to become the most practical system for crooked routes 
in the closely built parts of cities where -trolley wires cannot 
safely be strung overhead. The storage battery system is still 
in the experimental stage, and no economical method of apply- 
ing it to transportation has yet been devised. 

The use of power for driving street cars means an increase of 
speed and a corresponding reduction in distance, if it be meas- 
ured in terms of time. 

The construction of electric roads, operated by the overhead 
trolley system, is going on with enormous rapidity. They are 
built and operated so cheaply that routes are made to pay even 
in the small towns. Moreover, it has been found commercially 
possible to operate roads between small places, and there is now 
a rapidly growing system of electric roads subsidiary to and con- 
nected with the steam railway systems of the country. In 1892 
thei'e were 385 electric roads in operation throughout the United 
States, having a capital of $155,000,000, and operating 3,980 
miles of road. 



TRANSPORTATION 217 

These roads are built not only for tbe direct profits from their 
operation, but also for the purpose of bringing into the market 
and enhancing the value of suburban subdivisions of land. In- 
deed, they are so used to an astonishing extent — a fact that sug- 
gests the probable effect which this means of rapid transit may 
produce upon our cities. As has been pointed out in earlier 
pages, it is the fate of all countries, and of all ])arts of this coun- 
try, to consist mainly of urban population. As our cities be- 
come larger they must either become more and more crowded, 
each person having fewer square feet in which to live and move 
and have bis being, or they must spread outward. Heretofore, 
owing to the limitations of time, the tendency has been to accom- 
modate the increase of population by crowding. The extreme 
of this crowding is seen in the tenement-house district of New 
York, while even well-to-do classes of that city have been forced 
to live in flats, the buildings spreading upward instead of out- 
ward. 

The development of electric railways is changing all this and 
making it possible for the city to spread outward to many times 
its present area, without requiring the denizen of the suburb to 
devote more time to travel, morning and evening, than it for- 
merly took for him to journey downtown from his flat, behind a 
pair of jaded car horses. 

The city of the future will, thanks to electric roads, be spread 
out broadly over the land. Every dwelling will be a cottage 
with its plat of ground, and the tenement-house and the flat will 
gradually disappear with other relics of barbarism. 



MAIL SERVICE 

As in most civilized countries, the business of transporting 
and handling the mail matter is in the hands of the general gov- 
ernment, and its volume is enormous. It is conducted with little 
regard to cost, the primary object being to best serve the public 
needs. Thus mail routes are maintained not only in the thickly 
settled parts of the country, where every con-\'enience is afforded; 
but in the wildest and most remote sections, through the moun- 



218 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

tains of the south, and tbe deserts and mountains of the far 
west, where the service must of necessity be maintained at a loss, 
it is nevertheless conducted promptly and efficiently. 

The receipts from the densely settled parts of the country, 
especially from the routes between the great cities, are greatly 
in excess of the expenditures, and go far toward meeting the 
deficit in the remote and sparsely settled regious. Still, it has 
been many years since tbe postal service paid its expenses. 
There is usually a deficit ranging from $2,000,000 to $6,000,000 
annually. In 1892, 67,119 post-offices were maintained, by far 
the gi'eater number being petty offices. The extent of post- 
routes was 447,591 miles. The expenses in that year were 
$76,000,000, and the receipts $71,000,000, showing a deficit of 
$5,000,000. The amount of mail handled was not less than 
7,865,000,000 pieces ; this was an average of 125 pieces for each 
man, woman, and child in the nation, a number far exceeding 
that in any other country, Great Britain not excepted. 



FINANCE AND WEALTH 



The total amount of circulating media used in the United 
States in the year 1891, was $1,175,000,000. This does not 
take account of tlie gold, silver, and paper money lield in the 
United States Treasury, which, if added, would increase the 
sum total to $2,014,000,000. Of the money in circulation, 
S.") 2-1,000,000 were in coin, consisting of $407,000,000 in gold, 
,^59,000,000 in silver, and $58,000,000 in fractional silver. The 
balance was paper money, classified as follows : 

MONFA' IX CIRCULATION IN ISOl 

Gold certificates 1130.000, 000 

Silver certificates ;]07,000,000 

Currency certificates 32,000,000 

United States legal tender notes 40,000,000 

National bank notes 162,000,000 

The composition of our circulating media is illustrated in the 
diagram, Plate 39, facing page 220. 

All attempts to force the silver dollar into actual circulation 
have failed, on account of its inconvenience as a circulating 
medium. Of 419,000,000 silver dollars coined, all except $60,- 
000,000 lie in the Treasury, being represented in the circulation 
by silver certificates, which are used in preference to the coin 
itself. To a certain extent this is also true of gold, of which 
$138,000,000 lie in the Treasury, part of it being represented in 
the circulation by gold certificates. Indeed, gold, and silver 
also except as fractional currency, are seldom seen in the eastern 
and northern secti<ms of the country. At the south, silver 
dollars are much more common ; and throughout the far west, 
especially upon the Pacific coast, gold coin is in extensive use, 
supplanting paper money to a great extent. 



220 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

The total coinage of the United States in 1890, was as 

follows : 

COINAGE IN" 1890, CLASSIFIED 

Gold 130,500,000 

Silver 39,200,000 

Minor silver 1,400,000 

Total $61,100,000 

The coinage is executed mainly at the San Francisco mint, 
established in 1854, and that at Philadelphia (1798). There are 
two other mints, at New Orleans (1S3S) and Carson City, Nev. 
(1870), The so-called mint at Denver is used only as an assay 
office. 

The total amount of gold coinage minted from 1798 to 1892 
inclusive — just one hundred years — was $1,582,000,000, of silver 
coinage $057,000,000, and of minor coins $24,000,000. 

NATIONAL BANKS 

Most American citizens who have reached years of discretion 
can remember the old state banks and their circulating notes. 
They can recall how uncertain was the value of these notes, 
depending upon the ability of the bank to meet its obligations. 
They can remember the necessity for exchanging notes of one 
locality for those of another when traveling about the country, 
just as one is now obliged to exchange American for British 
money when crossing the ocean. 

All these uncertainties, inconveniences, and losses were re- 
lieved by the institution of the national banking system in 1863. 
The circulation of the national banks is guaranteed by the 
general government, so that the individual character and stand- 
ing of the bank is of no moment whatever to the person holding 
its notes. To obtain this security and thereby enable it to issue 
notes, each national bank is required to deposit with the United 
States Treasury an amount ten per cent, in excess of its circula- 
tion, of United States bonds, with which, in case of necessity, 
the government redeems its notes. 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 
PLATE 39 




THE CIRCULATING MEDIA IN 1893 



FINANCE AND WEALTH 221 

U|)C)n tlic institution of the natioTuil hanking; system, the cii'- 
culation of state banks disa])pearod at once, and the national 
system grew with unexampled rajndity. In 1891 the national 
banks numbered 3,677. They had a capital of $677,400,000, 
and resources amounting to $3,213,000,000. 



SAVINGS BANKS 

Savings banks are supported mainly by the poorer classes, 
those whose savings are limited in amount, and the nieasui-e of 
the success of such banks is a very good measure of the pros- 
perity of those classes. In the year 1891 there were throughout 
the United States 1,011 of this class of banks. Their depositors 
numbcj'ed no less than 4,533,217, and the total amount of deposits 
was $1,623,000,000, an average of $358 to each de])ositor. The 
total assets of these banks were $1,855,000,000. In recent years 
the savings banks have increased greatly in number aud in the 
amount of their deposits, showing, as far as they may be taken 
to indicate it, an exceedingly prosperous condition of the work- 
ing classes. 

The building associations, which, in certain large cities, such 
as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, have taken the place 
of savings banks, are in a correspondingly nourishing condition. 



WEALTH 

Tiie wealth of a nation is a matter of estimate only. Certain 
of its elements are susceptible of being approximated more 
closely than others ; but few of them can be given with greater 
certainty or accuracy than is expressed in the word "estimate." 

Methods of Estiiiiatiiij»'. An illustration of the method 
used for determining the wealth of a nation, is given in the 
estimates of the wealth of the United States made in connection 
with the tenth census, in 1880; a description of it will enable the 
reader to form his own measure of the amount of dependence 
to be placed upon results of this character. 



222 THE BUILDIXG OF A XATIOX 

In the first place, the value of tangible objects only was in- 
cluded in the estimate, and only intrinsic values were admitted. 
No account whatever was taken of notes, bonds, and. other 
promises to pay. whether public or private ; since, whatever may 
be their value to the holder, they diminish the property of the 
maker iu exactly the same degree, and therefore do not affect 
the wealth of the country as a whole. 

First in importance among these tangible objects, is land, and 
its improvements. The assessed value of this item was obtained 
from county and state authorities. As is well known, the assessed 
valuation is almost universally le^s than the true value, and that 
in varying proportions. In some cases the assessment is as low 
as twenty-five per cent of the true value, while in others it 
approximates closely thereto. In order to obtain this relation 
of assessed to true value of real estate, an extensive correspond- 
ence was had with assessors, real estate dealers, officers of bank- 
and building associations, and other classes of persons who havt 
to do with buying and selling real estate and loaning money 
upon it. The information received from these sources was 
digested, state by state ; and the net result in the form of a 
proportion between assessed and true values, was applied to the 
assessed valuation of the state, thus approximating the true 
valuation. 

The value of our railway system was assumed to be equal to 
the cost of construction and equipment, as reported by the rail- 
way companies, and similarly with the property of telegraph 
and telephone companies, and with shipping and canals. The 
value of live stock, farming tools, and farm machinery was 
accepted as returned upon the farm schedules of the census, as 
was also the value of mines. 

A certain proportion of the annual product of agriculture, 
manufactures, and mines was assumed to be in the hands of 
dealers and shijipers. and this was accepted as returned by the 
enumerators. The amount of specie was accepted as returned 
by the Treasury Department The value of houseliold furniture, 
clothing, and other personal belongings, which taken collectively 
is a large item, can be a matter of estimate only ; it was esti- 
mated in different wavs. and the results agreed sufficiently well 



FLSAXCi: AXD WEALTH 



223 



to serve as some sort of verification of one anotber. The value 

: real estate exempt from taxation, "vvas given in the reports 

: many of the state auditors, and its total amount in tlie 

•untry was estimated on the basis of that in the states where it 

was thus made known. 

In this way the estimate published in the census report of 
ISSO was obtained. It showei_l that the wealth of the country 
: that time was approximately $43,642,000,000, or an average 
: ^'^70 TO each inhabitanf. 

Wealth ill 1890. — Just now it is impossible to make a 

: niilar independent estimate of the wealth of the countrv in 

1 ^90. inasmuch as little of the necessary data is yet available. 

But assuming that the ratio of the total wealth to the assessed 

Juation of property, real and personal, remains the same as in 

-^SO. the wealth of the country in 1890 was in the neighborhood 

: §62.600.Ck:k),000. or very nearly $1.0<}0 per capita. In ISSO 

e United. States was the wealthiest of all nations, and unques- 

>nably the decade just passed has widened the gap between it 

and its closest comj^^etitor. Great Britain. 

In earlier censuses different and inferior methods have been 

: iployed for making these estimates, and the results have been 

•rrespondingly less trustworthy. The usual custom has been 

: ' obtain the assessed valuation of all property, real and 

personal, and with it estimates of the relation between this 

assessed valuation and the true value, by applying which, figures 

for the latter were obtained. In most cases this has probably 

suited in an underestimate of wealth, from two causes : One is 

the fact that a vast and increasing amount of personal property is 

never reported to the assessor. As a rule, the personal element 

: pro|.>erty is approximately equal in value to the real estate. 

In 1S<30. however, the assessed valuation of real estate was returned 

as about $7,000,000,000. and of personal property only $5,100.- 

000,0«X). showing a probable shortage in the personal element, of 

between $1,000,000,000 and $2,000,000,000. In 1S70 the assessed 

value of real estate was returned as $9,900,000,000. while that 

of personal property had apparently diminished to $4,300,000.- 

000. The corresponding figures in 1880 were $13,000,000,000 

and $3,900,000,000. respectively. Thus in twenty years the 



224 



THE BUILDING OF A NATION 



assessed value of personal property had fallen from $5,100,000,- 
000 to $3,900,000,000, an apparent diminution of $1,200,000,000, 
and tills in the face of an extraordinary increase in values 
everywhere. Moreover, while the value of personal property is 
nearly, if not quite, equal to that of real estate, in 1880 it was 
apparently worth much less than one-third. The explanation 
lies simply in the fact that a greater proportion of the personal 
element had, on one pretext or another, escaped the assessor. 

This formed one source of error in the method used prior to 
1880 in determining the true valuation. The other lay in the 
omission of a greater or less proportion of the property legally 
exempt from taxation. In 1880 this was estimated at $2,000,- 
000,000, or about one-twenty -second part of the entire wealth of 
the nation, figures that serve to measure the possible extent of 
this class of omissions. In 1870, however, strenuous efforts were 
made to secure the data concerning this element, and it is prob- 
able that they were fairly successful. 

In 1890 the wealth of the country was distributed very 
unevenly. The northern and western states were far wealthier 
in proportion to population than those of the south, since 
wealth is massed in the great manufacturing states and within 
their great cities. 

Historical Resume. — The following table shows the 
total and per capita wealth of the United States at the date of 
each census since 1850. This is illustrated also in the diagram 
on page 225. 

TOTAL AND PER CAPITA WEALTH, BY DECADES 



Year 


Total Wealth 


Wealth per Capita 


1850 

1860 


$7,136,000,000 
16,160,000,000 
30,069,000,000 
43,643,000,000 
62,600,000,000 


$308 
514 " 


1870 


780 


1880 

1890 


870 
1,000 







The next table presents the rate of increase of wealth from 
census to census : 



FINANCE AND WEALTH 



225 



RATE OP INCREASE OP WEALTH, BY DECADES 

Decade Rate of Increase 

1850-60 120.5 

1860-70 , 85.5 

1870-80 45.0 

1880-90 4o"(. 



1850. 
1860. 
1870- 



1 880_.. 
1890... 



BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 
24 30 36 42 



54 



6.0 



TOTAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



1850...- 
I860..... 
1870..... 
1 880_... 
1890.... 



HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS 
3 4 5 6 



WEALTH PER CAPITA 



In 1850 manufactures, trade, and commerce in this country 
were in an undeveloped stage. Most of the inhabitants were 
engaged in farming, and wealth was more uniformly distributed 
than at present. The people were more widely scattered, lines of 
communication were few and poor, and. each family was mucli 
more independent of the rest of the community than at present 
The farmer produced the food, and, to a large extent, the cloth- 
ing and other necessaries for his family. There was much less 
interchange of commodities. 

Daring the ten years between 1850 and 1860 there was an 
increase of wealth per capita over and above the increase of pop- 
ulation, amounting to sixty-seven per cent. With tlie develop- 
ment of manufactures and trade, which was going on apace in 
15 



226 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

the northern states, there was also a great increase in valuations, 
which accounted for a large part of this increased wealth of the 
country. 

The decade between 1860 and 1870 witnessed several great 
changes. The first of these in importance was the civil war, 
and its effects njion wealth were confined mainly to the south. 
In that section of the country values were greatly depreciated. 
Vast quantities of property were destroyed, and the labor of 
practically the whole adult male element was taken away from 
production for a period of about four years. Moreover, the abo- 
lition of slavery destroyed, nominally at least, a vast body of 
wealth, which had a value, at the lowest estimate, of a billion 
and a quarter of dollars. The net result of all this was that the 
southern states, which had formerly held a high rank in respect 
of wealth in proportion to population, fell to the bottom of the 
scale. 

The north, on the other hand, gained greatly in wealth, both 
during and after the war. Although between one and two mil- 
lions of men were withdrawn from productive pursuits through- 
out the period of the war, still its prosecution stimulated and 
enlarged production in such a degree as to more than compen- 
sate for this loss. Moreover, the extension of all kinds of busi- 
ness during the war period wonderfully increased the value of 
real property. Indeed, the assessed valuation of the northern 
and western states was advanced during these ten years 56 per 
cent., while that of the former wealthy states of the south dimin- 
ished 34 per cent. The true wealth of the northern and western 
states increased 159 per cent., while that of the south decreased 
over 18 per cent. In South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, and Texas, the wealth of 1870 was less than half that of 
1860. The net result to the nation, however, was a large increase 
of wealth in ]-)ro])ortion to population, being at the rate of 52 per 
cent, per capita. 

Between 1870 and 1880 there was great business depression 
and a shrinkage in values, extending quite generally throughout 
the country. This was caused probably by excessive produc- 
tion, which was stimulated by the war and continued after its 
close with increasing momentum, through the addition to the 



1 



FINANCE AND WEALTH 



227 



indastrial army of tlie Eepublic of the vast military force released 
from service. For several years the country had been producing 
more than it needed to consume ; deterred to a great extent from 
offering its wares in foreign markets by the high prices induced 
at liome by its protective tariff, the natural result of an over- 
stocked market followed. Prices fell, values shrank, and there 
were widespread commercial failures. Toward the close of the 
decade business revived and values rose again. Were it possible 
to make an estimate of our wealth in 18Y5, the result would 
doubtless show tiiat the country was poorer than it had been 
five years before. In 1880, however, it had much more than 
recovered the lost ground ; the wealth per capita had increased 
from $780 to $870, a gain of $90 per capita, or at the rate of 111 
per cent. 

Between 1880 and 1890 there is little to record except an 
almost unbroken course of prosperity. There have been slight 
oscillations, but none of a general or serious charactei-. We find 
that in 1890 the per capita wealth had increased from $870 to 
about $1,000, or at the rate of 15 per cent. 

Thus close the four decades in the history of the wealth of 
the country. In these forty years our population has increased 
from 23.000,000 to 68,000,000, a gain of 171 per cent. Our 
wealth has increased from $7,130,000,000 to $02,000,000,000, be- 
ing now nearly nine times as great as in 1850. It has increased 
from an average of $308 to $1,000 per capita, and the United 
States, from being one of the poorest of civilized nations, has 
become by far the richest of them all. 

Assessed Valuation in 1890. — The map on Plate 40, 
facing page 228, shows the distribution of the assessed valuation 
of the country in 1890, among the states. While it measurably 
fails in presenting the i-elative true wealth of the several states, 
owing to the variable relation between the assessed and the true 
valuation, it serves to bring out the main features of the geo- 
graphical distribution of wealth. The great preponderance of 
the northern states in wealth, and the comparative poverty of 
the south, are forcibly depicted. 

Sources of Wealth. — Whence comes this vast increase 
of wealth, which, decade by decade, has been added to our 



228 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

capital? It is only in small part the product of our farms, 
factories, and mines. Nearly all of this product is consumed in 
the support of our people. We eat it or wear it. The part 
which we send to other countries is balanced by what we I'eceive 
from them, and that also is consumed. As a matter of fact, the 
vast majority of the additions to our national capital consist in 
improvements upon land, in buildings, machinery, and railways, 
and in the appreciation of values, especially those of land. 

In this counti-y the last item is the one of greatest importance. 
The increase in the value of land has been enormous. To ap- 
preciate its extent, one has but to compare the former value of a 
city's site with its present value ; for example, tlie worthless 
desert which constituted the site of Denver thirty years ago, 
with its value per square foot to-day. This is man's work. He 
alone has given to the land its value. 



DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH 

The United States is worth to-day $62,600,000,000, an average, 
as already stated, of about $1,000 for every man, woman, and 
child. But how is our vast wealth distributed? Is the bulk of 
it owned by comparatively few, and are the great masses of 
people poor? Or is there some approach to uniformity in the 
distribution? Is the tendency toward concentration of wealth 
into few bands, or the reverse? These are questions of vital 
importance. 

We know that the country contains many poor people and few 
millionaires, and we know that the number and wealth of the 
few are increasing. We know also, Henry George to the con- 
trary notwithstanding, that the poor are not becoming poorer as 
the rich become richer ; but that to a greater or less extent they 
share in the general prosperity. We know, too, that while all 
classes are becoming richer, those near the top of the scale are 
increasing in wealth faster than those near the bottom; so that 
the differences in pecuniary circumstances are becoming more 
pronounced. 

An estimate of the distribution of wealth in the United States 



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FINANCE AND WEALTH 



229 



has recently been made, which gives at least an approximate 
idea of the degree of inequality in the holdings of our people. 
It was obtained in the following manner: The wage-earners of 
the country, by which are to be understood all those engaged in 
occupations of whatever character for pecuniary reward, were 
grouped for convenience as business men — including bankers, 
manufacturers, merchants, etc. — professional men, clerks, far- 
mers, skilled laborers, and unskilled laborers. The business 
group was classified as to wealth by the aid of the ]5radsti-eet 
book of ratings. The professional group, a small one, was 
classified by estimate. The farmers were classified by the aid of 
the classification of farms, according to size, as given by the 
census; and the other groups, composed of men having small 
holdings, were classified by estimate. 

The classification of these groujos, expressed in percentages of 
the total number of wage earners, shows the following: 



HOLDINGS OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF WAGE EARNERS 



Below $1,000 

$1,000 to $10,000 

$10,000 to $100.000... 
$100,000 to $1,000,000 
Above $1,000,000 . . . . 



Business 
Class 


Profes. 
Class 


Farmers 


Clerks and 
Skilled Lab. 


20.0 

50.0 

25.0 

4.8 

0.3 


40 

50 

9 

1 


35 

73 

3 


50 
50 


100.0 


100 


100 


100 



Unskilled 
Labor. 



100 



100 



The following table, which classifies all wage earners, was 
obtained by consolidating the columns of the preceding one: 

HOLDINGS OF ALL WAGE EARNERS 

Proportion of Total No. 
Per cents. 

Below $1,000 60.00 

$1,000 to $10,000 37.34 

$10,000 to $100,000 2.47 

$100,000 to $1,000,000 0.38 

Over $1,000,000 0.01 

Thus it appears that ninety-five hundredths of the wage 
earners probably own less than $10,000 each, and 9,971 out of 



o-O THF BVTLDIXG OF A XATIOy 

every 10.000 own loss; than ;^ 100,000 each. Only one wage 
oarner in 10.000 is a millionaire. 

So mneh for the dislribntion of the wage-earners; now glauee 
at the distribution of wealth. The following table shows this, 
expressed in pereentages of the total wealth of the country : 

DlSTKllU riOX OV WKAl/ril IX IM:Uc"KN TAciKS OF TUK TOTAL 

Vor oouls. 

BoKnv fl.OOO 6 

#1.000 to $U).000 37 

^UUXXM o $UH). 0(H> 2o 

|HH)aXH) to ^l.tKKllHH) '-JT 

Over $HH)0.(HH) 5 

From this it a[>[vars that only o per eent. of the eapital is 
owned by uiilliouaire^, and only 27 per eent. by the next most 
wealtliy class. Nearly nine-tenths of the property of the 
country is held in sums ranging from $1,000 to $1,000,000. 

Thus we lind that one ten-thousandth of the wage earners 
possess one-twentieth of the property, and that twenty-eight 
hnndredths of one per cent, of their number own 27 per cent, 
or more than a fourth, of the wealth of the country. On the 
other hand, three-tifths of the wage earners have but one-six- 
teenth of the wealth. 



A FORECAST OF TIIK FUTIIIIK 



\n the preceding pages our nation's progress has been traced 
for a century, in territory, population, and industries; in the 
development of its i-esources, and of its wealth. At the begin- 
ning tlic United States was one of the feeblest and poorest of 
civili/.ed nations. To-day, in numbers and power, in industry 
;iiid wealth, it leads them all. It is the exponent to the world 
of iill that makes civilization. Its history, that marvelous 
history which we have tried to picture, will forever serve 
humanity as an object-lesson of the beneficent results of perfect 
freedom in thought and action. 

The .spectacle afforded by this wonderful development under 
the freest of governments, has already V)orne abundant fruit 
among the monarchies of Europe. Its influence has been ex- 
erted quietly, but with the greatest effect. The absence oi 
classes in this country has tended to break down tlie barriers of 
caste in the older ones. Universality of citizenship on this side 
of the water has aided in its extension upon the other side, and 
the high standard of living among the masses here has helped 
to elevate the condition of the serfs of Europe. 

The Goveriiuicnt. — What will be our future? Is our 
form of government destined to endure? With ignorance born 
of scllishness and prejudice, the older nations of Europe a 
century ago, and for many years thereafter, condemned as 
weak and vacillating a government in which the people were 
allowed to rule themselves. Our civil war undeceived them. 
For four years, the United States prosecuted a war of self-pres- 
ervation, upon a scale unknown to history, with uniform single- 
ness of purpose, pouring out blood and treasure without stint, 
and fought it to a successful finish. 

Neither adversity nor prosperity has developed any material 



232 I'JfF. BUILDING OF A NATION 

weakness in the fundamental idea of our government. It is not 
to be supposed for a moment, that a government bv all the peo- 
ple possesses less streugtli or tenacity of purj^ose than a govern- 
ment by one person ; tlie former is infinitely the stronger, just 
as the power of many men is greater that that of one man; and 
a government in which all participate, and whose officers are 
simply the agents of the people, is necessarily stronger than one 
whicli is above and over them, and in which they take no part 
and can have but little interest. 

There appears to be no reasonable question as to the perma- 
nence of our institutions and form of government. There is 
every probability that they will increase in strength as the 
nation increases in numbers and in wealth. 

No government ever stands still ; least of all, the government 
of an active, progressive nation. TTe cannot expect ours, excel- 
lent as it is, and well suited to our needs, to remain the same. 
Even under existing conditions it is susceptible of great im- 
provement; and as these conditions change, as change they will, 
it must in turn be modified to meet the new demands upon it. 

The government will develop, not on socialistic lines, which 
tend to make the people dependent upon it ; but under the 
opposite policy of making them individually independent and 
responsible. Thus and thus only can the highest development 
of man be reached. The aim of the public school system is to 
fit the American youth for freedom and citizenship, and the 
training commenced in the schools is carried forward in the 
town meeting, where he takes his part in the affairs of govern- 
ment. The township system of local government will be ex- 
tended to all }>arts of our jurisdiction. A man's feeling of 
responsibility, and his usefulness as a citizen, are increased by 
the ownership of land and a home; and the private ownership 
of land will be encouraged by the government of the future, as it 
lias been encouraged in the past. 

The government will undertake for the people only those 
matters which it can do better than they can do in their individ- 
ual capacity. In other words, it will supplement the work of 
the people. It will continue to carry out great projects of im- 
provement, which, while necessary for the general welfare, do 



A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 233 

not offer sufficient pecuniary reward to tempt private capital. 
It will continue to make surveys, and to prosecute scientilic 
researches, which redound to the benefit of all, and to collect 
and disseminate information in aid of the industries. 

The utter savagery and folly of the spoils system will be 
thoroughly realized long before the second century has passed, 
and the reforms recently introduced into tlie civil service will 
have been perfected and extended, to a point where the govern- 
mental machinery will remain unaltered while administrations 
come and go. A change of administration will, in the future, 
involve a change in those offices only which are concerned with 
the policy of the government, and not with its routine. 

"When that day arrives, the political party as it now exists 
— a party well-nigh without an issue, an ntterl}- illogical group- 
ing of men, held together by a name and a thirst for office — will 
cease to exist. In its place will be found men grouping them- 
selves about a preexisting issue for the purpose of maintaining 
and carrying it out under the government. The party will have 
a reason for its existence, and its members will be able to account 
for their allegiance. 

The People. — Our vast preponderance over the other 
nations of the North American continent will, ere long, draw 
them into our body politic; our descendants will be citizens of 
a republic whose dominion shall extend from Greenland to 
Panama, and whose sixt3^-three millions of to-day will have 
swollen in a century to half a billion. 

But it must be remembered that the enumeration of popula- 
lation conveys little idea of the industrial strength of the country. 
We have grown in numbers from four to sixty-three millions; 
but this proportion of nearly sixteen to one is utterly inadequate 
to characterize the growth of our industrial capacity. Within 
the century, we have invented and perfected machines for mak- 
ing almost everything, and our productive capacity per man has 
become thereby at least ten times as great as it was a century ago. 

Tlie substitution of machinery for human labor will go on 
indefinitely. Our children will see man fully emancipated from 
manual toil, and his productive capacity vastly increased beyond 
even its present proportions. 



234 THE BUTLDINO OF A NATION 

This increase will be attended by a corresponding improve- 
ment in man's physical condition, and necessarily in bis mental 
and moral condition as well. Wages for all classes of service, 
which have been advanced so rapidly in recent times, will con- 
tinue to increase with the increased efficiency of labor; at the 
same time the cost of the necessaries and luxuries of life will go 
on diminishing. The masses will be better fed, clothed, and 
housed. As civilization advances, their sanitary condition will 
improve, the death rate will diminish, and man will live longer. 
Indeed, it is possible that in the dim future our descendants 
mav live to greater ages than the patriarchs of Mosaic times. 

The time is near at hand when immigration will be closely 
restricted, and only the intelligent and industrious of Europe 
will be allowed to make their homes with us. This restriction 
of immigration will greatly check the additions to our numbers 
from abroad; but their }~)laces will be filled by our own flesh, 
and blood, since natural increase, which has been depressed by 
the flood of immigration, will quickly recover its normal rate. 
With this restriction, also, illiteracy will rapidly disappear, and 
before the close of our second century, the illiterate will be 
reduced to as small a percentage of the population as thc}^ now 
form among the native born of New England. The restriction 
of immigration wnll have a like salutary effect upon crime. Our 
courts and jails, now full to overflowing with the criminals 
unloaded upon us from Europe, will be found almost unoc- 
cupied. 

Indiscriminate charity breeds pauperism. With the general 
increase of intelligence, the community will consider the subject 
of charity more thoughtfully and philoso])hically than hitherto, 
and will better realize the extent of the mischief to be wrought 
by taking counsel only of its sympathies. It will rightly con- 
clude tliat the only safe wa^' of helping a needy person is to 
assist hiui in helping himself, and that he who will not help him- 
self should, in mercy to his fellow-men, be permitted to suffer 
the penalty. The coming century will see our provisions for 
charity greatly reduced, and greatly changed in character. It 
will aim to reduce pauperism, not to increase it. Instead of 
offering money to the unfortunate, they will be given an oppor- 



A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 



235 



tunity to better themselves, and the incorrigible will be allowed 
to go to the wall. 

With the restriction of immigration and the exclusion of its 
worst elements, the trades unions, whose members are almost 
entirely of foreign birth or parentage, will disappear from our 
midst. 

The colored race, upon which the south depends for its agri- 
cultural service, will continue to increase in numbers, but less 
rapidly than the whites, as has been the case heretofore. There 
will be little mixture of races. Having no predilection for 
manufacturing pursuits, the colored people will remain wedded 
to the soil. As manufactures extend and increase at the south, 
and the whites leave the farms for the city, their ])laees will be 
taken by the colored people, who will thus become the farmers 
of that section. The colored people will also become the lan(]- 
holders of the south and will produce the cotton of the world. 

Woman. — The position of woman in the future, already 
dimly foreshadowed, will be realized. She will no longer be 
secondary to man, but his equal, or rather his supplement. All 
arts, all professions, all occupations, will be open to her. It does 
not follow from this, however, that she will enter them all ; for 
the distinctions of sex, her mental peculiarities and physical 
limitations, will still enforce certain restrictions. As she ac- 
quires greater ability to reason logically, to control her impulses 
and sympathies ; as she familiarizes herself with business meth- 
ods, she will take a moi-e active part in business affairs. Among 
other things, she will naturally assume her share in the control 
of those great corporations known as municipal, state, and 
national governments, as soon as her assistance in that work 
becomes of service. 

Laiig'uag'e. — Prominent among the other improvements we 
are destined to make, will be the simplification of our language. 
It is estimated that two years of the life of every American 
child is to-day wasted in learning the intricacies and inconsis- 
tencies of the orthography of the language. Add to this the time 
devoted, in later years, to searching dictionaries for the accepted 
sjielling of words, and to the mere writing of unnecessary letters, 
and one can appreciate the enormous expense entailed by the 



236 THE BUILDING OF A XATION 

defects of our lansraasre — defects orio-inallv introduced mainlv 
bv the whims of the first makers of dictionaries. 

Language is merelj" a means for the expression of thought. 
As such, it should be as simple and as eflicient a tool as possi- 
ble; and matters concerning the origin of words and the de- 
velopment of hmgiiage should be hekl as trifles, compared with 
its efficiency as a means of communication. 

This view is sure to prevail sooner or later; and ])honetic 
spelling and a simple, consistent grammar, are only a question of 
time. 

Cities. — Among the reforms of the future which will con- 
tribute toward long life, improvement in health, and reduction 
in the death rate, is the extension and spreading out of cities, 
referred to in connection with the subject of street railways. By 
the aid of electric I'oads, carrying jiassengers swiftly to and fro 
between the heart of the city and the suburbs, the crowding and 
congesting of our great centers of population will cease. Tene- 
ment houses will be depleted of their teeming and suffering 
thousands, and in place thereof square leagues will be dotted 
with detached cottages and villas surrounded by green grass 
and waving trees. The densely settled states of the future will 
become continuous cities, and the city, as a crowded, congested 
congregation of human beings, will cease to exist. The only 
closely built areas will be those devoted to the needs of com- 
merce. 

Cori>oratioiis. — Corporations will continue to increase in 
wealth and power, consolidating with one another until they 
become of enormous magnitude. But as their wealth and power 
increase, and as they grow more independent of competition 
except from the community they serve, more and more will the 
government assume control over them, acting upon the theory 
that they are agencies for the service of the peojile, and to be 
controlled, so far as may be necessary, by the people. The busi- 
ness of transiKU'tatiou. grown to such dimensions as to dwarf our 
present enormous traffic, may pass into very few hands and yet 
be as easily controlled and serve the public needs quite as well, 
as the telegraph business of to-day. 

Agriculture. — Before the lapse of many j-ears we shall 



A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 237 

have readied the conviction that our manufacturing industries 
are no longer in their infancy, but have grown to the stature of 
manhood, and are able to maintain themselves. When that time 
arrives we will make haste to pull down the barriers of protec- 
tion which we have erected, and thereby enlarge our markets so 
as to include the nations of the world. Then will our foreign 
trade become of relative importance. Then will we supply not 
only food, but clothing, and all other kinds of manufactured 
articles as well, to the rest of the civilized world. 

Let us run over the list and see what we are likely to be able 
to do for the support of mankind in the coming centurj'. In the 
matter of agriculture we have subdued and devoted to the service 
of man only about one-sixth of our area, excluding Alaska. Tins 
is less than one-third of the territory which we can reasonably 
hope to bring under cultivation. Our rugged mountains and 
waterless deserts, which comprise possibly two-fifths of our terri- 
tory, we can hardly expect to devote to agriculture; but by 
utilizing all our arable land we may hope in the future to 
produce three times as much from our territory as at present. 
Furthermore, all experience goes to prove that as the country 
becomes more closely settled, cultivation becomes more thorough, 
and the soil is made to yield a richer return per acre. Thus by 
extending the area of cultivated land, and by more thorough 
cultivation of the soil, our agricultural industries will yxoXd year 
by year a greater surplus over the needs of our population ; and 
year by year, a constantly increasing proportion of the products 
of our soil will be sent abroad, to aid in the support of the over- 
crowded millions of Europe. 

Another score of years will see all the lands within the arid 
region, which are susceptible of irrigation, taken up and placed 
under cultivation, and a reflex wave of migration will occupy 
the abandoned farms and plantations of the east, and restore 
them to the service of man. 

Migration to Canada, Mexico, and the Central American 
states, which has never prospered under their present forms of 
government, will receive a great stimulus when these countries 
become integral parts of the Republic. The American farmer 
will spread across the border and occupy the fertile fields of the 



238 THE BUILDING OF A NATION 

Saskatchewan and tlie mountain valleys of the Columbia and 
Fraser, pushing his outposts northward as far as the cereals will 
grow. Southward he will occupy the rich lands of the tierra 
caliente and the tierra templada of Mexico and the valleys and 
plains of Central America, where he will introduce to the people 
of those regions enlightened methods of farming, and will ener- 
gize the whole commuDit3\ 

Manufactures. — Meantime, while the farmers, the van- 
guard of civilization, are extending our frontier of settlement, 
the frontier of manufacturing industry will continue its steady 
advance. From Mason and Dixon's line, the Ohio river and the 
Mississippi, which now define its line of march in general terms, 
it will spread both southward and westward. In the southern 
Appalachians, in the mountains of the Virginias, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, the Carol inas, Georgia, and Alabama, will soon 
be developed a second Pennsylvania, greater and richer than 
that of the north. 

It seems a curious waste of energy to transport the raw 
material of manufactures thousands of miles, there to undergo a 
change of form and to be returned to the starting place, perhaps, 
in the shape of the finished product. In this way two-thirds of 
the cotton crop of the United States is annually transported to 
Europe, where it is manufactured into cloth. A considerable 
proportion of the resulting cloth is transported back to this 
countr}^, some of it to the very states in which the cotton was 
grown. This is a maladjustment of things, which in the future 
will be remedied. The manufacture of cotton will be carried on 
mainly at the south where the material is raised, and the cost of 
transportation and handling will thereby be greatly reduced. 
Indeed, the cotton states will become the center of the cotton 
manufacture of the world, and it is safe to conclude that when 
this time arrives the cotton factories of New England and Great 
Britain will have seen their best days, and that manufactured 
cotton will be exported from New Orleans, Mobile, Charleston, 
and Newport News, as it is now from Liverpool and London. 

Coal. — The coal supply of this country is simply incalcula- 
ble. Hundreds of thousands of square miles are underlaid by 
coal beds. Their extent is so vast and the quantity of coal 



A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE 239 

so immense, that although thousands of millions of tons have 
already been taken from the bosom of the earth, the comparative 
loss is utterly inappreciable. For many centuries to come the 
United States can supply the whole world with fuel M'ithout 
materially depleting her resources of coal. On the little island, 
which is our mother country, a different state of things prevails. 
Its coal supply is limited, and at the present rate of mining a 
few score years will exhaust it, and the mother may be obliged 
to turn to her child for fuel, which is the source of power. But 
this is not all. The failure of England's coal supply may cause 
the failure of her iron industry; and in this event America will 
be called upon to furnish the world with its iron and steel as 
well. 

Electricity. — The transmission of power in the form of 
electricity is destined to work great economies in industry, trans- 
portation, and social life. There is no longer a doubt that in 
this form power may be developed on an immense scale; trans- 
ported to great distances from the point of its generation; 
retained on draught, as it were, for long periods of time; sub- 
divided at will, and changed in volume or intensity. Therefore, 
who can question that force, in the form of electricity, will 
become as completely subject to the needs and uses of civilized 
man, as matter itself? 

The time is not far distant when our railway passenger trains 
will be run by it, thus obviating the use of heavy locomotives 
and tenders, with their cargoes of coal and water. This will 
permit of attaining greater speed, and greater comfort to pas- 
sengers. By electric trains, running on improved alignments, 
grades, and roadbeds, we ma}^ reasonably expect our descendants 
to cross the continent in twenty-four hours, with less discomfort 
than now attends a journey from New York to Chicago. 

Horses, deposed by the storage battery, will disappear from 
our roads and streets; and all work, from rocking the cradle to 
drawing the hearse, from running a sewing-machine to the opera- 
tion of a railway system, will be done by electricity. The next 
will, indeed, be the electric age. 



FINIS 



Little did the great admiral imagine, when, on the early 
morning of October 21, 1492, from the lookout of the Saiita 
Maria, he first descried the shores of America, what tremendous 
results were to follow his discovery, what world-wide changes it 
was destined to produce. He little foresaw that upon the land 
wliich he. an Italian, in the service of Spain, unfolded to the 
world, would develop a nation of English blood, greater and 
stronger, and witli a higher civilization, than any of tlie powers 
of Europe. 

Like many another of the world's heroes, he biiilded better 
than he knew. The long list of those to whom this country is 
chiefly indebted must forever open with his name. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Accessions of Territory 46 

Agriculture 1G3 

" Department of 21-23 

" general statistics of 1G4 

" importance of, relatis-c to manufactures 1G4 

of tlie future 236 

Agricultural capital 1G4, 1G5 

" products, value of , 104, 1G5 

Alabama 25 

Alaska 4, 25 

' ' purchase of 46 

Algonquin Indians 99 

Aliens 126 

Allegheny plateau 7 

Altitude, distribution of population according to 84 

American Federation of Labor 143 

Annexations of territory 46 

Apache Indians 100 

Appalachian mountains , 6 

" valley 6 

Areas of states and territories 30 

Area of United States . 5 

Arizona 25 

Arkansas 25 

Army 41 

Artesian wells 175 

Assessed valuation in 1 890 227 

Athabascan Indians 100 

Atlantic coast 5 

" plain 7 

Attendance at schools 131 

'* " colleges and professional schools 132 

Austrians in the United States, distribution of Ill 

Baptists 148 

16 



242 INDEX 

PAGE 

Bighorn mountains, Wyoming 9 

Black mountains. North Carolina 7 

Blue Ridge 6 

Bohemians in the United States, history oi 110 

Books, publication of 183 

Brazil, commerce with 214 

British in the United States, distribution of Ill 

Budget 40 

Building associations 221 

Bureau of Statistics of Treasury 21 

Cabinet 18 

Cable railways 216 

Caddo Indians 99 

California 26 

Canada, commerce with 214 

Canadians in the United States, distribution of Ill 

historyof 110 

Carolinas, settlement of 52 

Cascade range 11 

Cash sales of public lands 49 

Catholics 147 

Cattle, distribution of 172 

Causes of prosperity 3 

Census Office 23 

Center of population ... 71 

" " " movements of 71 

C'essions of lands, by states 46 

Charity, future reforms in 234 

Cherokee Indians 100 

Chickasaw Indians 100 

Chinese in the United States, statistical history and distnl)ution of 98 

" number of, in the United States. 90 

Exclusion Act 98 

Choctaw Indians 100 

Christians 148 

Church members, proportion to population 150 

" property, value of 14G 

Circuit courts 1 'J 

Circulating media 210 

Cities, constituents of the population of 131 

" of the future 236 

Civil divisions of counties 31, 33 

Civil Service Commission 24 

Coal 187 

" supply for the future 238 

Coast and Geodetic Survey 22 



INDEX 



243 



PAGE 

Coast ranges , \\ 

' ' traffic 208 

Coinage 220 

Colleges 132 

Colonies, poj)iiIatioii of 52 

Colorado 26 

Colored, number at each census %\ 

' ' race, future of 235 

" " relative diminution of 92 

' ' rates of increase of 92 

" southward movement of 97 

Commerce 209 

Comptroller of the Currency 21 

Congregation alists I49 

Congress, committees of 19 

Conjugal condition I59 

" " of colored 160 

" " " foreign born IGO 

" " " native whites 160 

Connecticut 26 

Constituents of population, summary of 123 

Constitution of United States 1 

Copper 191 

Cordilleran plateau 8 

Cordilleras of North America 8 

Corporations of the future 236 

Cotton 169 

' ' manufactures 182 

Counties 31, 32 

County debt 33, 37 

Creek Indians 100 

Crime 156 

" restriction of, in future 234 

Cuba, commerce with 214 

Cumberland plateau 7 

Death, causes of 153 

' ' rate, general 152 

•• of future 234 

" rates in foreign countries 155 

Debts of goverinnent 33 

Delaware 26 

Density of population 62 

" " " by groups 67 

" " •' " states 68 

" " " in foreign countries 64 

Departments of Government 18, 20 



244 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Desert Land Act 49 

Disposal of Public Lands 48 

District courts 19 

District of Columbia 25 

Divorce 161 

Early settlements 51 

Education 130 

" Bureau of 23 

'• expenditures for 131 

Electors for President 17 

Electric railways 216 

Electricity, future developments of 239 

Elements of population, summary of 123 

Elk mountains, Colorado 9 

Engineering works 204 

Engraving and Printing, Bureau of 21 

Enrollment in schools 130 

Episcopalians 149 

Ethnology, Bureau of 21 

Executive departments 20 

Expenditure on public schools 131 

Expenditures of government 40 

Exports 211 

Extent of settlement 63, 64 

Families, size of 86 

Farming tools and machinery, value of 164, 165 

Farms, average size of 164, 105 

number of 164, 165 

value of 164, 165 

Finance and wealth 219 

Finis 340 

Fish Commission 23 

Florida 26 

' ' purchase 46 

Foreign blood, amount of, in country 119 

" born, birthplace of 108 

by states 105 

" " distribution of 105 

" " history of different nationalities constituting it 109 

" " illiteracy of 115 

" " in cities 113 

*' " nationalities of 108 

" " occupations of 114 

•• " population 102 

" " proportion of, by states 106 

*' commerce 210 



INDEX 245 



PAGE 



Foreign commerce, liistory of 213 

" parentage 118 

" " distribution of population of 119 

" " population of, in cities 121 

Forests 15 

France, commerce with , 213 

Front range, Colorado 9 

Future, forecast of 231 

Gadsden purchase 40 

Geographic distribution of population 82 

Geological Survey 23 

Georgia .... 26 

'' settlement of 52 

Germans in the United States, distribution of Ill 

" " '• " history of 110 

Germany, commerce witli 213 

Geysers 12 

Geyser basins 12 

Gold 190 

' ' in circulation 219 

Government IG 

debts 32 

*' general 17 

of states 24 

" future development of, 231 

Great Basin 10 

Great Britain, commerce with 213 

Great cities 80 

" plains 8 

Hay 171 

Hogs, distribution of 173 

Homestead Act 49 

Horses, distribution of 172 

Hot Springs 12 

Hungarians in the United States, history of HI 

Hydrographic Office 22 

Idaho 26 

Illinois 26 

Illiteracy 127 

" census statistics of 128 

" distribution of 128 

" reduction of, in future 234 

Immigration 103 

" character of 10-1 

" constituents of 104 

" effect of, upon natural increase 115 



246 INDEX 

PAGE 

Immigration, effect of, on native clement 118 

future of 234 

Imports 211 

Improved land 1G4, 165 

•■ distribution of 166 

Increase of jjopulation, considerations aifecting 58 

Indian corn 168 

Indian Territory 26 

Indiana 26 

Indians 99 

" citizen, in the United States 90 

" cost of maintaining 101 

" number of 100 

" progress in civilization 101 

" treatment of 100 

Industrial republic, an 1 

Interior Department 21, 23 

Interstate Commerce Commission 23 

Invention 144 

Iowa 26 

Irish in the United States, distribution of HI 

history of 110 

Iron and steel manufactures 180 

Iron ore 189 

Iroquois Indians 99 

Irrigated area 174 

Irrigation 173 

Italians in the United States, history of 110 

Jamestown, Ya., settlement of 51 

Japanese, number in the United States 90 

Judiciary 19 

Justice, Department of 20, 23 

Kansas 27 

Kentucky 27 

Kiowa Indians 100 

Laboi', Department of 24 

Land bounties 49 

" grants to railways 49 

Language, development of 235 

Latter Day Saints 149 

Lead . . . .* 192 

Life Saving Service 22 

Light-house establishment 22 

Live stock 171 

•' " distribution of 172 

Louisiana 27 



INDEX 



247 



PACE 

Louisiana purchase 4g 

Lutherans 148 

Mail service 217 

Maine 27 

Maize, production of 108 

Malt liquors, production of 184 

Manufactures 17(j 

" general statistics of 176 

" of great cities I79 

" " the future .... 2.'J8 

Manufacturing capital 178 

Maryland 27 

" settlement of 52 

Massachusetts Bay colony 51 

IMerchant fleet of the United States 206 

Method of survey of public lands 47 

Methodists I47 

Mexican cession 4g 

Michigan 27 

Middle Park, Colorado 9 

Military forces 41 

Militia 41 

'■ potential 42 

Mineral resources 186 

Minnesota 27 

Mint Bureau 21 

Mississippi 27 

" valley 7 

Missouri 28 

Moki Lidians 99 

Money in circulation 219 

Montana 28 

Mortality 151 

" census statistics of 151 

" in registration cities 154 

Mormons 149 

Mulattoes, number in tlie United States 90 

Mules, distribution of 172 

Municipal debt 33, 37 

Muskogee Indians 99 

National banks 220 

" debt 33 

' ' domain 4 

" Museum 24 

Native born population 102 

" " white population 102 



248 INDEX 

PAGE 

Nativity of population 103 

Natural gas 194 

Nautical Almanac Office 23 

Naval Observatory 33 

Navy 44 

" Department 20, 33 

Nebraska 38 

Negroes, number of, in the United States 90 

Nevada 38 

New Hampshire 38 

New Jersey 38 

New Mexico 28 

New York 28 

" " the greater 81 

" " when colonized 53 

Newspapers 183 

North Carolina 88 

North Dakota 38 

North Park, Colorado 9 

Oats 169 

Occupations 133 

" changes in 141 

" criticism of census schedule of 133 

" distribution of classes of 135 

" nativity with relation to 138 

" of immigrants 140 

Octoroons, number in the United States 90 

Ohio 39 

Oklahoma 29 

Oregon 39 

Ozark hills 7 

Pacific coast 5 

Park range, Colorado 9 

Pauperism in the United States 158 

" classification of, by race and nativity 159 

Pennsylvania 39 

' ' when colonized 53 

Pensions 45 

People, future progress of 833 

Periodicals 183 

Petroleum 193 

Pima Indians 100 

Plateau region 9 

Plymouth colony 51 

Poles in the United States, history of 110 

Population 51 



INDEX 249 

PAOE 

Population by states in 1890 55 

" density of, in the United States 62 

" geographic distribution of 82 

' ' increase of 53 

" of colonies 52 

" '• countries of the globe in 1890 54 

" " states, rate of increase of 56 

" " " j'ecent changes in 60 

" " the United States at each census 53 

Post Office Department 20. 22 

" " statistics of 218 

Potatoes 171 

Powers, distribution of 20 

Preemption 48 

Presbyterians 148 

Presidency, succession to 18 

President 17 

" salary of 18 

Prisoners in the United States 156 

" classification of, by race and nativity 157 

Professional schools 132 

Prosperity, causes of 2 

Public lands 45 

" " amount alienated 49 

" " method of disposal 48 

" " method of survey 47 

" schools 130 

Puget Sound 11 

Quadroons, number in the United States 90 

Quicksilver 193 

Races 90 

Races, distribution by states 94 

" " at each census 96 

" proportions of, at each census 91 

" statistical history of, in the United States 91 

Railway accidents 203 

" companies, consolidation of 201 

" land grants 49 

mileage compared with population in countries in 1890 199 

" mileage of all countries in 1890 198 

" transportation, cost of 202 

Railways • • ^90 

" growth of system, 1830 to 1890 197 

mileage of, in 1891 196 

" objects of construction -^"^ 

" of United States, general statistics 200 



250 INDEX 

PAGE 

Railways, organization of 201 

Rainfall, distribution of population according to 83 

of United States 13 

" '• eastern United States 13 

" "' western United States 14 

Rainier, Mount 11 

Receipts of government 40 

Register of the Treasury 21 

Regular army 41 

Relative standing of states in population . . 02 

Relief of the country 5 

Religion 146 

Religious communicants, distribution of 149 

" denominations, membership of 146 

Representatives, House of 18 

Rhode Island 29 

River traffic 208 

Rocky mountains 9 

Rolling stock of railways , 203 

Rural population 75 

" " increase of 77 

Russians in tlie United States, history of 110 

Salt 194 

Salt Lake basin 11 

Sangre de Cristo range, Colorado 9 

San Juan mountains, Colorado 9 

San Luis Park 9 

Savings banks 221 

Sawatch range, Colorado 9 

Scandinavians in the United States, distribution of Ill 

" history of 110 

School district debt 33, 38 

Seminole Indians 100 

Senate. 18 

Settled area 66 

" " and population, rates of increase compared 67 

" " classification of 07 

Settlement, extent of 63 

in 1890 65 

Sex 88 

" proportions of, in foreign countries 88 

states 89 

Shasta, Mount 11 

Sheep, distribution of 172 

Ship building 214 

Shoshone Indians 99 



INDEX 251 



PAGE 



Sierra Nevada \\ 

Silk manufactures 183 

Silver 191 

" in circulation 219 

Sioux Indians 99 

Size of families gg 

Smithsonian Institution 24 

South Carolina 29 

South Dakota '. 29 

South Park, Colorado 9 

Spirits, production of 184 

State debts -jjj^ 3G 

State, Department of 20, 21 

States, organization of 24 

Statistics, Bureau of 21 

Steel 190 

Street railways 21G 

Summary of constituents of population 123 

Subdivisions of states and counties 31 

Supreme Court 19 

Swamp lands given to states 49 

Telegraphs '. 215 

Telephones 215 

Temperature, distribution of population according to 82 

Temperature of the United States IS 

Tennessee 29 

Texas 29 

' ' annexation of 46 

Timber Culture Act 49 

Tobacco 166 

Trades unions 143 

future of 235 

Traffic statistics of railways 200 

Transportation 195 

Treasurer of United States 21 

Treasury Department 20, 21 

Urban population 74 

" " by states 79 

" " distribution of 77 

" " increase of 77 

Utah 29 

Vermont 29 

Vessels in foreign trade 207 

Vice-President 17 

' ' salary of 18 

Virginia 30 



252 ' INDEX 

PAGE 

Volcanic action 13 

Voters, potential 124 

Wages 142 

" in manufactures ... 178 

Wagon roads 195 

War Department , 20, 22 

Water transportation 206 

Wealth 221 

" distribution of 228 

' ' historical resume of 224 

" in 1890 223 

" methods of estimating 221 

' ' sources of increase in 227 

Weather Bureau 23 

West Virginia 30 

Wheat... ^ 167 

Whites, number of, at each census 91 

" rates of increase of 92 

Wind River Range, Wyoming 9 

Wines, production of 184 

Wisconsin 30 

Woman in the future 235 

Wool manufactures 182 

Wyoming 30 

Yellowstone Park 12 

Yuma Indians 100 

Zinc 193 

Zoological Park 24 













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